TMNT Dimension Nether
by 2stepsfromhell5
Summary: After encountering a new enemy who has plans of building an insufficient teleporter, the gang is further more in trouble after being teleported into an unknown new world, Forced to survive and adapt as of possibly no way back home to their earth.
1. Chapter 1: Encounter

Please take note, this is an AU version in regards to similarity of the 2k12 fandom.  
I am no professional when it comes to story writing, especially since I am solo making this. Please understand.

Please take note that TMNT Dimension Nether will also be full of Angst, injury, suspense, action, drama, adventure semi-romance and family related close relationships regarding sensitive emotional caring for one another. In a way, this is your warning if you can't tolerate these kind of genre's.**  
If you want to know more about it, I recommend viewing it via DA!**

**(Violence, Gore, Blood, Drama, Action, Adventure, Strong/Subtle language, Comedy, Martial Arts, Family, Fantasy, Angst, Supernatural, Killing, Death, Semi-Romance.)  
Content: 16+ (Rated M for Mature)**

**For your safety and mine, These AU designs and story belong to me, do NOT take em! Fanart is totally fine, but please all I ask is to credit both me and Nickelodeon. These are still the 2012 based characters, and they still rightfully belong to Nick.**

**Main warning, this story focuses on April n' Leo. Don't like these two together, then this is your warning!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Encounter**

"MIKEY!" The yell could be heard from within the dojo where both Leo and Splinter were interrupted by their meditation.

Leo sighed and stood up, "I'll go see what's-" Leo was saying only to be interrupted by Splinter. "You and your brothers may go top side tonight, but only if you follow a few guidelines I will display and explain to you all, so retrieve your brothers and bring them here please." Splinter didn't hesitate at all from this sudden allowance that shocked Leo slightly, But Leo didn't question him and just nodded as he walked out the dojo.

"I AM SO GOING TO POUND YOU INTO THE GROUND!" Raph was yelling at the top of his lungs who was chasing Mikey around the lair. Mikey drew on Raph's face with an expo marker while he was passed out on the couch, it was the first noticeable thing when Leo walked out noticing the ruckus happening.

"I'm Sorry Raph, there's nothing else to do around here! I am bored!" Mikey screamed frighteningly as he ran from Raph. "Oh I will show you boredom!" Raph yelled back at him picking up the pace.

Leo only sighed walking over to the next spot the two brothers would run past, he lifted his right leg a bit which as soon as Mikey came over noticing too late had tripped over Leo's leg. Leo caught Mikey by the shell before he face planted to the ground, and Leo put a hand up for Raph next and Raph had instantly ran right into Leo's hand face first. "Are you two done? Because Splinter wants all of us in the dojo now, we're going Top Side in a few minutes. So you will not be bored any longer Mikey." Leo said smiling at Mikey.

Raph growled loudly rubbing his nose and wiping his face because of the marker. He couldn't really argue with Leo, let alone Splinter, so he growled louder and mumbled curse words as he walked towards the dojo. Leo had let Mikey loose. "Were going top side, finally!? OH YEAH!" Mikey yelled happily following Raph towards the dojo. Leo looked towards the lab where Donnie most likely was, either passed out or working on science stuff. "Donnie?" Leo asked as he peeked into the lab from the door. "Eep! Leo!? You scared me, I heard the guys fighting outside hoping they wouldn't come in here…" Donnie said frightened who was hiding behind his computer desk.

Leo walked over to him and reassured him everything was ok and that everyone was needed in the dojo. Both Donnie and Leo walked out of the lab and into the dojo where Raph and Mikey were already sitting on the ground in front of Splinter who insisted they sit alongside them, which they did.

"Now, my sons." Splinter had started as the turtles were aligned next to each other, ears open. "You all are now old enough to the point I have decided and will allow you all to go top side starting after this explanation and guidelines. First, Leonardo will be in charge at all times, no exceptions." Raph growled angrily lowly needing to have Leo bossing him around. "Raphael!" Splinter yelled slightly loudly and glared at him angrily. Raph instantly shot up straight, stopping and began listening again. Splinter sighed and continued.

"My sons, the top world is very dangerous. And I am sure Donnie is aware because of the media of many incidents happening and being posted worldwide. Before you all leave, One, I want you all to always stick together and work as a team. Two, stay in the shadows. Three, do not expose yourselves to anyone. Four, be home before dawn." Splinter had stopped and concluded his few rules, he had way more but he knew that his sons knew what they had to follow and do. All the turtles stood up and shouted "Hai, Sensei!"

All the turtles booked it out of the dojo, equipping their weapons and gear before running up the stairs and out of the lair. Splinter had reassured them out as they left.

"How long do I have to stare at your butt, move it Mikey!" Raph yelled waving his hand in front of his face on the ladder as they were exiting a manhole. Mikey exited the manhole following Leo who had exited first, Raph and Donnie came out next. "Dude's the outside is awesome!" Mikey said all excited and looked around checking everything out in the alley they were in. Donnie quickly was behind and clinging to Leo who was scared of anything new regarding surroundings due to people. Mikey instantly jumped at the sight of a human on their phone across the alley. "Dude's I am so gonna go say hi!" Mikey began to walk towards them. "Mikey don't! You heard what Splinter said about exposing ourselves to anyone." Leo snapped at Mikey who apparently didn't listen at all. "Haha watch me! He's just gonna see I am some normal dude coming to say hi!" Mikey quickly jogged on over to the human. "Mikey!" Leo shouted lowly at him who didn't dare follow because of the human. Raph started to smirk and giggle slightly "This is so gonna be good." He exclaimed.

Mikey approached the human closer and shouted "Hiya!" waving his hand walking past the middle of the street. The human man instantly turned around and saw Mikey approaching him, but it wasn't what Mikey was expecting. The man instantly screamed in fear throwing his phone in the air and running in the opposite direction away from Mikey. Mikey was left standing at the edge of the sidewalk in confusion. Leo sighed "I am so getting it from Splinter…" and face-palmed, Raph couldn't help but laugh.

Mikey came back to the alley with a sad look on his face and didn't dare look at any of his brothers because he knew he was in trouble. Leo looked up at the buildings and knew at that second they had to travel by rooftop to stay out of sight of humans. Donnie had calmed down a lot and adjusted to the top world a bit after what Mikey had done but he still stuck close to his brothers. Leo pointed to the roofs "We're gonna travel from the rooftops to stay out of sight, and Mikey… Listen to me next time or it won't just be me you get a scolding from." Leo glared angrily at Mikey who whimpered lowly but nodded in agreement to Leo because he wasn't wrong.

All the turtles looked at the roof, Leo was the first to jump from the railings and ladders and wall run up to the roof, the others quickly followed. Once they all reached the top and stood next to each other, Leo pointed in a general direction to where they would go to start exploring.

A large sigh had escaped April's mouth, who was exhausted after a long trip two hundred miles out of the city. She had just arrived to New York City, exiting the train carrying a backpack and decently large bag on wheels. She was here to start a new life, a life of her own and one at the age of only seventeen. She had graduated early and knew just about enough to make a living of her own, but she wasn't expecting it to start in such an expensive populated and crowded city area in an old apartment that her parents owned and was left empty.

April had let out another small sigh as she continued towards the exit of the train station, dragging the bag behind her all tired like. She had walked up the stairs and ended up at the busy streets, she had to walk to the apartment due to not having a car or the money at the moment for a taxi. She had heard a lot of rumors of New York being full of criminals and muggers, along with mysterious anomalies that have been happening and so called ghosts and ninja's killing or injuring people. She didn't hesitate to take into consideration that these rumors though are true as most of it had proof of deaths happening randomly in alleys and bodies being found with unknown caused injuries, Especially with how populated this city was. And it was already dark out.

April pulled out a small map from her pocket that her dad had given her to direct her towards the apartment from the station. She looked down at back up at a few times before moving along the sidewalk and reading the street signs for street names. April was getting annoyed because her dads writing and drawing was never the greatest, she kept flipping the map in different directions trying to read some of it but thankfully she could understand most of it and found the street she needed to be on and head towards.

A scream could be heard in the distance, it wasn't too far from where April was walking and she jolted to a frighten stop and looked in the general direction it came from. Good thing the street she was on was somewhat busy with people so not much abnormal activity happened here. But she couldn't get the urge to go check it out to go away, she found a spot to hide her large bag and come back later hoping no one would come across it. April had learned some self defense fighting when she was younger to this day, considering she was a straight up A+ student and always had free time on her hands, so her parents would allow her to learn self defense and practice herself outside the house and in the woods, especially for such a dangerous place to start a life in.

April darted towards the scream she heard as it happened a second time, she came across a pretty dark alley with barely any lighting, a perfect place to take advantage of for mugging and murdering. She walked up to the alley, noticing two guys pinning a young girl against a wall flirting with her and abusing her, one was also holding her purse away from her chuckling. These guys were muggers, and selfish one's at that too. "Hey!" April yelled standing in the opening on the alley, the men turned and looked at her in sudden surprise. "Leave her alone, let her go, and I won't tell anyone about what I saw tonight. Especially your faces." April angrily exclaimed with her fists to the side ready for anything. The men laughed loudly "Oh look, someone has come to rescue you darling." One of the men said chuckling and then clicking his tongue making a small whistle sound. A dark figure was approaching out of the depths of the alley and more into the light, it was a huge large man with a very upset look on his face and many many scars. He walked up to April and stared face down directly into her eye's. April instantly regretted coming to check out and stop whatever was happening here, she wasn't expecting a muscular and large strong looking man to come across so soon.

The turtles jolted to a stop when they heard a scream not too far off, but also instantly turned towards a loud sound right in their ears. Raph, Donnie and Leo stared at Mikey who was standing and eating chips loudly, not even paying any attention to the scream that the rest of them have heard. "Mikey!" Raph yelled, slapping the chip out of Mikey's hand that he was about to eat. "Hey! My chip! What the heck man!" Mikey sobbed at the fallen chip on the ground. "Did you seriously bring chips with you!?" Raph yelled glaring at him angrily. "Well yeah! I needed some sort of snack for the adventure!" Mikey said, giving Raph an angry look as well to mock him in some way. Raph was about to aggressively snatch the chips from Mikey only to be stopped by Leo.

"Enough you two, we got something more important." Leo said, he pointed in the direction the scream came from that everyone but Mikey knew what he meant. All the turtles ran and jumped from the roofs to a dark street with barely any lights in it, the screaming had stopped for some time now but since they were closer they could here whimpering, mocking and laughing in a nearby alley. "Hey come on! Leave her alone!" April yelled at the two men who were still pestering the young girl after five to ten minutes since arrival. April was pinned against the wall on the opposite side of the occurring incident by the large man and she knew she was next for the picking. The men ignored her and continued their teasing, mocking and flirting and usually would slap or punch the girl who began crying and whimpering as she had no energy left for more screams.

"I am so gonna beat all of them up." Raph mumbled loudly as the turtles peered over from the roof witnessing the incident happening. "Hold on, Raph. I'll deal with it." Leo Said and he turned over to Mikey who was still munching on chips but more silently this time because of how close they were to the incident. Mikey stopped and looked back at Leo and was confused. "Mikey, can I borrow your gusari chain?" Leo asked. "Uh, sure…?" Mikey said back and reached into his belt grabbing his Gusari chain, handing it to Leo. Leo pulled out one of his Tanto blades from under his hand armor plates and flipped it to the point of holding it by the blade and aiming it. Mikey crunched a chip loudly on accident but wasn't loud enough for the men below to hear, but it sure did piss Raph off. "That is it!" Raph yelled lowly and jumped at Mikey attempting to take the chips. Donnie sobbed at the two and shackenly asked them to stop. Leo ignored what was happening behind him and more below him, he threw the tanto at the larger man holding a young orange haired girl directly in the man's foot. The man screamed in pain letting the girl go and backed off grabbing his foot crying in pain, the other two men instantly stopped and looked over at what was happening and was about to rush over but Leo swung and threw the Gusari chain at one of the men as he jumped off the roof and into the darker part of the alley so they wouldn't see him and yanked the man into the alley towards him, knocking him out.

April was too much in surprise and shock at what was happening. But instantly knew it was a ninja at work due to the weapons and movements, she took advantage of this moment and rushed to the injured girl who was laying against the wall crying silently from the pain, She stayed next to the girl as the muggers were being dealt with by the unknown person at work. The other man who took part of it was freaked out and scared and was about to book it out of the alley but Leo didn't hesitate to not let him escape and the chain reached and wrapped around the man before he could exit the alley, where he also pulled him in and knocked him out tossing him on top of the other guy. Leo noticed the larger man look over but was still slightly crying, he was pissed. Leo started spinning the chain beside himself as the larger man stood angrily and rushed towards Leo yelling, "Strong silent type, huh?" Leo mumbled. As the man approached the shadows, Leo threw the chain and wrapped it around the man's leg, and wrapping it around his own, Leo flipped, pinning the chain down with his foot to add more strength to the chain to cause the man who seemed to weigh over a few hundred pounds to fall off his feet. The man gagged in surprise as he became unbalanced and almost fell but managed to grab the chain that Leo had already let go of, the man looked around frightened as he had disappeared. Leo jumped from the ladder of the wall and onto the man's shoulders, forming his hand into a solid fold and slammed the side of his hand into the man's neck causing him to pass out and collapse. Leo quickly jumped off and grabbed the tanto in the man's foot and the gusari chain before jumping up back towards the roof silently.

Leo climbed over the edge and jumped back onto the roof noticing Raph and Mikey were still fighting and Mikey still had the chips in his possession. Donnie had given up already to try and stop them and was sitting just watching them. "Alright, enough!" Leo yelled at them as he placed his tanto back under his hand armor. Raph and Mikey instantly stopped and looked at Leo who seemed pretty serious, Leo tossed Mikey's Gusari chain back towards him, "Time to go, now." Leo said taking the lead back towards the manhole they came out from to go back home. Mikey crunched a chip loudly as he tucked the chain back behind his belt and followed behind the others.

April looked up towards where that ninja had fled, she turned towards the hurt lady reassuring her that everything was ok now and help was on the way as she could hear sirens approaching them finally, so someone nearby must've called after hearing all the yelps and screams from being attacked. April ran up towards the ladders on the side of the building that led up to the roof, climbing up she reached the top and looked over to double make sure the police and ambulance were arriving, which they did as two cop cars and one ambulance pulled in the alley. "Ok, good." She mumbled as she turned to look around on the roof for anything, and she did find something, a chip. She also noticed there was a trail of them, small one's mostly, so whoever was eating them wasn't a clean eater. "Good thing I learned a bit of survival and tracking during school." April giggled as she followed the trail, she had to climb down and back up the roofs in order to stay on the trail, sometimes the trail would cut off and stop but she managed. She eventually was led to an alley that was pretty empty, the chip crumbs had ended at a manhole cover where she stood with an somewhat ugly look on her face. "Ew, sewers? Who would live in the sewers?" She questioned herself.

Leo knew someone was following them and was already waiting below, hiding up on top of the large sewer pipes and staying within the shadows near the cover. He had his brothers go back to the lair so he could double make sure his senses weren't lying to him, which seemed like they were not as the manhole cover was removed.

April had removed the cover which was pretty heavy and she knew she was also going to regret this. Her first night here has already been a little too exciting because of her curiosity, she crouched down and began to go down the ladder that was always provided with just about every manhole cover area around New York and there was always at least one or two lights in each tunnel of the sewers but it still was pretty dark in them and as far as she could tell just about half way down, it was pretty dark in this one. April let out a worried yelp as her hand had slipped off the ladder, causing her foot to get caught in between the bars and twisting her ankle which made her cry out a bit, she wasn't a big cry baby when it came to hurting herself or being hurt, she mostly was a big cry baby when it came towards others without really knowing it. So say if a very close friend or family member got hurt, she would start tearing up and crying without having any control over it, it has been an issue with her ever since she was a little girl. She had fallen to the ground butt first and grasped at her ankle whimpering to herself silently, "Stupid, Stupid…" She mumbled looking at her ankle, she knew it was pretty bad as it hurt badly to even move it, let alone she knew she would probably not be able to walk on it and was pretty much stuck here in a sewer tunnel of all places.

Leo instantly knew it was the same orange haired girl from back in the alley where he had stopped the muggers at, he glared at her as she had injured herself but didn't dare expose himself strictly from Splinters direct instructions not to. But he couldn't help and feel bad for her as she used the ladder for support to stand up, Leo moved back a little bit further into the darkness. April heard a small sound but couldn't quite make out what it was but she knew someone or something was nearby probably watching her failure of ladder climbing. April looked around the tunnel she was in as she leaned on the ladder and didn't hesitate to try and contact this person if they were nearby, "Hello!? Come on, I know you're there… er somewhere… Look I won't do anything stupid, not like I can anyway…" She yelled lowly hoping for something otherwise she would have to struggle her way back up the ladder, find her bag, and find her way to the apartment still along with abandoning this trail tracking of a ninja who is all about stealth, but again her curiosity got the best of her.

Leo let out a tiny sigh, April also did and was about to turn and walk up the ladder or attempt to. Leo jumped down from the pipe and landed in the sewer water not too far from where she was and the ladder, along with his swords being so close together gave a decently loud metal clunk. April jumped at the sudden loud sounds behind her, she hugged the ladder in sudden shock and let out a small yelp without knowing it and instantly turned and looked at the person who had jumped down from the pipes above her that she did not even bother looking up at. The only thing that came to mind instantly was a monster of some sort, standing right in front of her but she also knew it had no intention whatsoever to harm her otherwise it would have already or sooner. "Woah, you're a turtle monster!?" April said surprised and excited as her curiosity got to her again, she could tell it was a turtle mostly because of the shell plating on the chest area, and the green skin.

Leo looked at her and sighed, not hesitating to question and talk to her as she seemed to not be frightened by his appearance which honestly surprised him a bit. "Not a monster, a mutant." Leo said to her, "And why were you following?" He questioned. April looked at him directly in the eyes, his eyes were pretty blue and she adored them in some ways, she was also surprised he spoke English and knew. "You my friend are pretty decently easy to track." April said as she reached into her pocket pulling out a small chip and showing it to him. Leo widened his eyes at the sudden sight of the chip 'Mikey...You are so getting it when I get back!' Leo thought to himself angrily. Leo came to a sudden realization on what the girl had said as well, he looked back at her and raised an eye "Friend?" he asked confused. "You're the one who saved me and that other girl back there at the alley, no? And I can reassure you that I did see a glimpse of blue and white in those shadows." April said pointing at his mask and white hand and foot armors. "You realize bright colors can still be extinguished even in dark places. If that person has good eyesight though to be honest… Like me." April said smiling pointing back herself, bragging.

Leo looked at her angrily and sighed in anger, he turned away from her raising his hands up then back down "I can't right now, I'm off, It's bad enough I showed myself to you human." He said, too angered about Mikey's chip fest, about to walk off. "Hey now, I have a name you know, and it's not human! It's April! And are you seriously going to leave me here?!" She yelled at him angrily and kind of sadly, not wanting him to go. Leo stopped and turned his head, looking at her seriously. April looked down at the ground sadly "Thank you… for the save at the alley.." April said in a slight mumble. "Look I know you want to stay hidden, I won't tell anyone about tonight or you, who would believe me anyway…" She sighed looking back up at him. "The name's Leonardo." Leo said, turning around and walking up to her, pointing at her ankle. "I have someone who can help with that, but I cannot take you with me due to displaying location and direction of where I stay." Leo said. April understood this and it was hard for him, she knew he wanted to help her but felt bad that he had to a second time, she sighed and looked down ashamed but gasped at the sudden idea she got. April sat down and pulled her backpack off of her back that she still had, surprisingly enough the muggers didn't bother taking it off of her until it was probably her turn for that beat down. Leo tilted his head confused as April was scrounging and digging through her bag "Here we go!" She happily shouted, she had pulled out a scarf her parents packed for her as New York could get pretty cold during the nights. "You can tie this around my eyes so I will not see!" April said raising the scarf towards Leo who seemed shocked a little.

Leo glared at the scarf and back at her, "You're persistent…" Leo said, looking down at her. April waved the scarf around in front of him and insisted on wanting to come along, smirking. "Please?" She asked attempting to give a sad face to convince him, which seemed to be working. Leo twitched an eye and let out a sigh "Fine! Jeez, I'll be stuck carrying you too…" Leo said not amused at all of the situation. April only smiled and nodded, she didn't care of a giant three figured turtle touching her, she was no germ freak. In fact she was liking this situation and this encounter, it's not everyday you meet a mutant and actually get along with them, let alone them wanting to help you. Leo tied part of the scarf around her eyes to the point it was pitch black for her, he then lifted her easily in his arms and was also carrying her backpack for her. April was excited and she couldn't stop fidgeting in his arms and giggling happily a bit, she loved making friends and meeting new people along with interacting with them socially, even if it meant a giant talking turtle. Leo was unamused the whole way back to the lair where Donnie was to help April with her ankle, he knew he was so getting it with Splinter once he brang her there.


	2. Chapter 2: Introduction

**Chapter 2: Introduction**

"Donnie!" A yell could be heard from outside the lair entrance, Donnie jumped at the sudden yell of his name and looked towards the entrance, It was Leo who was carrying a young human teen girl in his arms and he looked very upset too. Donnie was always scared when Leo got upset because he could be more scarier than Raph usually, he lowered his head into his shell, "Y-yeah?" Donnie said not even bothering to mention about the human.

Raph and Mikey looked very shocked as they all were sitting on the couch, "Did you kidnap a human girl!?" Raph yelled, panicking and pointing at the girl in Leo's arms. April knew they had arrived and she didn't wait or hesitate as she removed the scarf from her eyes and down her neck while still being carried by Leo, "Woah! There's four of you turtle mutants! That is so cool!" April shouted in excitement with her hands to her face shocked. Leo lowered April but still allowed her to lean on him for support because of her injured ankle from twisting it badly back in a tunnel decently far away from slipping on a ladder, Leo angrily looked directly at Mikey who was probably on his third pack of chips eating them loudly still.

Leo looked back at Donnie, "Can you take and help her, she hurt her ankle and that's why I brought her." Leo said to Donnie, handing April her bag back. Donnie was too frightened a bit at how mad Leo seemed to be and didn't hesitate to let his shyness get the best of him because of this, he walked over to them and helped April to his lab to fix her up but was stopped at a sudden shout. "What is the meaning of this!?" Splinter was standing at the entrance of the dojo with an overwhelming angry look on his face, which was directed from April and then back at Leo as he raised an eyebrow for an explanation.

Leo raised an arm and showed a chip to Splinter then looked at Mikey. Splinter understood instantly at what Leo was getting at without having to say a word, "Michelangelo and Leonardo, come with me." Splinter said walking back into the dojo. Mikey whimpered knowing he was in deep trouble as his fellow chips have ruined the beginning of a new adventure, he threw the chips on the couch and followed behind Leo towards the dojo.

"So you guys live in an abandoned station in the sewers?" April asked, while Donnie was wrapping and fixing up her ankle. "Uh… yeah, technically it's not abandoned anymore since we took over it. And I applied it with the best security and programming. You won't find this place on any social media…" Donnie said in an attempt to warn her. April looked at him and raised an eyebrow "Hey, I have no intention of telling anyone about you guys, Leo saved me twice now, i'm not one to go turn my back towards him and you guys for helping me and telling the media about you so you could be locked up away and experimented on." April said reassuring him. Donnie looked up at her and realized she knew Leo's name, which means Leo must've told her, which also means he probably trusts her and she seemed to be telling the truth. "Well… you can call me Donatello." Donnie said to her as he finished patching her ankle up and leaned back, "There ya go!" He said with a smile.

April always seemed to feel sorry and pity for most people who tend to help her, especially from Donnie who looked very shy and was holding the shyness back with her because of Leo's anger earlier. She couldn't help but to leap off the chair and give Donnie a hug, "Thank you then, Donnie!" April said as she hugged him as a thanks. Donnie was shocked and couldn't move at the sudden comfort she gave him, he was also very confused at the situation and why this girl was somewhat...weird. "April is my name!" She said sitting next to him on the ground.

"Well then April…" A voice came from the entrance of the lab where both April and Donnie looked at, it was Raph leaning against the lab door. "Why did you follow Leo? Huh?" Raph asked, giving her a serious look. April tilted her head, "Easy, curiosity got the best of me. It usually always does with me, I don't know why or really know when it happens sometimes but it just...happens?" She said, confusing even herself. "So that's why you follow a trail of chip crumbs? Good thing Leo got a vibe of someone following, because if it was someone else completely different from you, things would have gone way worse." Raph said, walking on over to the two. Raph took a liking to April, they all pretty much did, "I'm Rapheal, and the one who left the chip ahoy trail is Michelangelo. They're both probably getting it from Splinter by now." Raph said with a small smirk on his face.

"Splinter?" April asked confusingly. Both Raph and Donnie looked at her, "Oh right… that rat you saw was Master Splinter, he's our Sensei, Mentor, and Father." Donnie said. "So he raised you all?" April asked looking at Donnie who seemed to know all the answers. "Yep! Since we got mutated as baby turtles." Raph let out a small chuckle, "We gave him such a hard time when younger, he is the master in ninjutsu, he was human before getting mutated into a rat." Raph said adding more into the story. April was so into this backstory that she kept excitevely nodding her head wanting more on it. "His real name is Hamato Yoshi, from the ninja Hamato clan that got wiped out 17 years ago. We don't know why it did or really how, nor does Splinter himself because he went out on a mission and returned one day with the clan being just gone, vanished without a trace." Donnie continued, "So he tried to research more on the incident but couldn't find anything on it, which led him here to New York where he ended up buying four baby turtles because he wanted company, which was us. A strange canister fell from the sky or the roof of a building and crash landed on Splinter, letting out a strange ooze that fell all over on him and us, which mutated us all. So to this day, we still do not know anything about what mutated us." Donnie said, he widened his eyes as he noticed both April and Raph staring at him in amazement and enjoyment. "Eep! I said too much, didn't I?!" Donnie said all of sudden scared and terrified.

"Dude, that is so cool! So there's actually some kind of chemical out there that can mutate people and animals into like monsters of some sort!?" April said as she fell back wiggling around excitedly. "That story is awesome! So you guys are brothers?" April asked, raising herself back up. "Yep, Leo is the oldest of us four, our leader and a teachers pet." Raph said looking at April smirking a bit. "I see you're all getting along." Another voice came from the entrance of the lab doors, it was Leo who was standing there smiling at the three of them. "Speaking of the teacher's pet, how was the scolding lesson?" Raph said, smirking at Leo who walked over and joined them on the floor. "Mikey is in the Hashi for not noticing his mistakes and purposely approaching a human even after I told him not to, which was also disobeying orders. Splinter also said you can stay here for the night, April." Leo said looking at her. "I would love that! But I can't leave my bag out all night long… It sorta has important stuff in it." April said disappointedly. All the turtles around her looked at her confusingly, "Bag? I thought the bag on you was only one, you're not a kid from school wandering about at night?" Raph asked.

April looked at the three turtles and raised an eyebrow. "I thought it was obvious, guess not." April began, "I actually just moved here, I just arrived at the train station a few hours ago and was walking down the street I was supposed to be on for the apartment I am gonna start making a living at. That's when I heard a scream on the next street pass, so I decided to hide my larger bag under a dumpster and head towards the scream to see if I could help in any way because well...curiosity. I wasn't expecting such a large man, that Leo took down with ease. That's pretty much when you showed up Leo and were here now…" April explained her situation, so she is just as much as in a mess as the turtles. "Make a living? You look like you're fifteen!?" Donnie said, shocked. "I am actually seventeen who graduated early and was sent out by my parents to make my own life, and because I wanted to and didn't wanna stick around with them any longer." April added on.

"What street is your bag on, and if in a specific alley?" Raph asked. April looked over at him in a small astonishment knowing he wanted to go get it for her, "Well… you do not have to go get it if that's what you're getting at." April said, tilting her head a bit. "He insists." Leo said, smirking at Raph who let out a small growl at Leo. April looked at Raph and thought for a minute, she nodded and reached into her pocket pulling out the small map her father had drawn out for her and handed it over to Raph and pointed at the street, "I hope you can read it…" April said unsureaningly. Raph looked at the paper and chuckled a bit, "You should see Mikey's writing." Raph said, standing up and walking off with a wave, "I'll be back in a bit." He said as he left the lab.

April looked at Leo and Donnie, "Guess I will stay here for the night, the apartments managers are probably closed because of how late it is and I do not have a key at the moment considering I have to check in to make sure they know it is me and not think its some stranger in the apartment during the night if I got in elsewhere." April said with a sigh. "Well, you'll have to sleep on the couch, hope that's ok." Leo said standing up with a stretch. April nodded with a smile, "Trust me, I've had to sleep on the floor before for a week straight. I can deal with the couch." Leo looked at her and turned around walking off towards the exit of the lab, "I'll grab some blankets and pillows then for ya." Leo said with a wave as he exited the lab.

April looked at Donnie with a huge smile on her face, "So! I am guessing Mikey is the short one who was eating chips earlier?" April asked. Donnie looked at her wide eyed in confusement from her huge smile at first and then jumped to answer the question, "Yeah… You could say he's the prankster, He loves pulling pranks, jokes, goofing around, eating… you name it." Donnie said, tilting his head confusing himself. "So I am guessing Mikey is the prankster, Leo is the leader, and you're the genius considering this amazing lab. And what about Raph? He looks pretty aggressive and bulky… The brute?" April asked to make sure. Donnie looked at her again confusingly, "Well pretty much actually, right on point. Leo I would say is the Fearless Leader, he's the one whose more wise and spiritual than any of us and would most likely sacrifice himself for us. He can come up with plans and ideas in an instant, that is...well... unbelievable. We have no choice but to usually obey him when it comes to orders, but even if we had the choice, I still would honestly, without him, we wouldn't stand a chance as a team. Mikey is just full of goofiness, but he keeps the fun around, and sometimes his pranks and stupid incidents are helpful. Raph as you said is the brute of us bunch, complete brute force and hand to hand combat, he has a really bad temper too and I am honestly kind of surprised at how nice he was being with you. And me...im just the tech, I build all the tech stuff for all of us and fix things, such as the security system I have for the lair, I specialize in hand to hand combat as well because of my bow staff usually being easily broken. But I also have an extreme bad case of shyness…" Donnie said, as he went into depth and the story of himself and brothers looking down fidgeting with his fingers.

April looked at him with her head tilted to look at him easier as he looked down, almost in shame of spilling the beans too much and she knew this considering she could somehow tell someone's emotions by their expression. April perked her head up quickly and smiled "Well Donnie! I honestly have no regrets about following that trail of chips your brother accidently left, or going to check out what was happening in that alley. And I am grateful that Leo decided to show himself and accept me, otherwise I wouldn't have met you guys. So, let's be friends!" April said with a large smile on her face holding her hand out for a friendship shake. Donnie noticed someone at the entrance of the lab peering in, it was Splinter who came to see how things were with the girl, Donnie smiled and looked at April and accepted her offer as he shook her hand.

"April was it?" Splinter said entering the lab and looking at her. April turned her head to see who said her name considering it was a different voice, she saw that it was Splinter that Raph and Donnie were talking about earlier and also telling a bit of his backstory, he seemed really wise and spiritual as well and very cool that she got all sparkly eyed. "Woah, you guys are like the bestest thing that has ever happened to me, even though you're all mutants, you're all still so nice when you can easily scare people. Like I get that it's important to stay in hiding and I know about not exposing yourselves because of very bad things that could happen. But am I the only one who knows about you guys?" April couldn't help but to ask Splinter who listened carefully to her. Splinter lowered his head a bit and closed his eyes giving a nod, "You are exactly right about bad things happening if we were to expose ourselves to the world, I have kept my sons locked up down here for sixteen, almost seventeen years and only just now allowed them to go to the above world so long as they stayed in the shadows. And have seemed to fail their first night top side, so yes, you are the first human being to know of our existence." Splinter said, looking back towards April.

April gave a small smile and a somewhat worried look. "Please don't keep them from going top side because of me…" April asked, she did honestly really like these people, er mutants, they are the first friends she has had in a very long time that actually help her and understand her. Splinter gave a small smile in return and reassured her it wasn't going to happen, but considering they still were under adult age, they still could get grounded. "First thing in the morning I will have my sons return you to your home, Ms. April, you are more than welcome to come visit and stay with us anytime, just make sure no one follows or tell anyone. I trust you just as much as my sons seem too." Splinter said to April, Splinter had trust in this girl because of what Leo told him about her before bringing her to the lair, she will know the location of the lair in the morning when leaving and Splinter knew this and accepted her because his sons did as well and he could tell spiritually that she was trustworthy. April had a large smile on her face "Thank you so much!" She said happily.

"MIKEY!" A yell was heard from outside the lab, it was Raph, who has returned after setting out to find April's bag for her. "YOU ARE SO GETTING IT NOW!" Raph yelled. Donnie helped April to her feet as all three of them in the lab walked to the entrance to see what the ruckus was about. They noticed Raph chasing Mikey around the lair, and Leo was sitting on the other end of the couch removing some of his gear ignoring the two brothers fighting. April's spot on the couch was already prepared, and April noticed her bag next to it and she couldn't help but to chuckle a bit and smile, they were definitely brothers.

Donnie helped April to the couch where she was going to sleep for the night, "Thank you Donnie." She said as she sat on the couch and placed her backpack next to her large bag, she grabbed her cell phone from her pocket and looked up at Donnie who was looking at Leo who was having a hard time removing one of his gear. "It's ok if I call my parents to let them know I made it and am all right?" She asked, because she knew cell phones usually could be tracked but who would want to track her aside from her parents who would probably call the police from not hearing from their daughter after leaving for a new life, then having those cops track her. Donnie looked back at April and raised an eye "You realize phones can't be tracked down in the sewers, I'm sure you can get a signal though down here, so I don't see why not… I will be in my lab if you need anything too." Donnie said to her as he smiled and waved, walking off towards his lab.

April smiled as she put the phone to her ear as she had already dialed the number for her dad, and Donnie was right, there was a signal otherwise it wouldn't be ringing, she let out a small chuckle. "April?! Are you ok, do you realize what time it is!?" It was April's dad who had answered, he was freaking out and worried. "Woah woah, calm down dad, jeez, I am fine." April said reassuring him. "I called the apartment staff to see if you had checked in just a few minutes ago, they said you haven't, are you sure!?" Her dad asked. April didn't wanna mention anything about tonight and the incident in the alley and the turtles, so she easily came up with an excuse. "The train had to stop for a few hours for some reason, and I accidently dozed off too, I am still on the train and will arrive by morning. It's fine." April reassured him, but he seemed suspicious with her as he let out a 'hmmm.' April had a worried look on her face but her dad just went with it and said he loved her before they both hung up. April let out a sigh as she fell back on the couch with relief, Leo finally got the one piece of gear he was struggling with off and looked over at her confusingly. "Everything ok?" He asked her as he gathered his armored hand and feet platings from the ground, "Yeah… My dad just was a bit suspicious with the excuse I had to make, but it's all good." She said lifting herself back up. "Well, I am off to bed, if you need anything don't hesitate to wake me or go to Donnie… or even Mikey over there…" Leo said looking at Mikey who had passed out on the bean bag chair close to him. "Alright." April said as Leo stood up and waved her off a goodnight heading to his room. Raph was already in bed in his room a while ago, and Splinter seemed to have gone to bed as well, everyone has gone to bed it seems. April layed back on the couch covering herself with the blankets Leo provided her and a pillow, she let out a happy sigh as the only light in the living room area was coming from Donnie's lab, and the lights outside the lair, she closed her eyes and let herself fall asleep.


	3. Chapter 3: The Purple Dragons

**Chapter 3: The Purple Dragons**

It was about five in the morning and April woke up and couldn't go back to sleep for a while longer, she could hear the TV on but it wasn't loud at all. She peered from the covers to see that it was Leo who was crossed in front of the TV with a hand on his cheek looking bored as he browsed the channels looking for something to watch, she also noticed he was the only one awake as she could see and hear Mikey still passed out snoring on the bean bag chair.

April removed the covers slowly and lifted herself from the couch, she put pressure on her injured ankle to see if it was better a bit and could at least stand on it, which she could, and she could walk a bit as it didn't hurt as much like it did last night. Leo let out a bored sigh and turned the TV to a random channel and decided to just watch whatever it gave, Mikey let out a loud snore on accident which woke himself up, he let out a small scream and collapsed off the bean bag chair and shot himself upward looking at April then back at Leo. "Dude's, I had the craziest dream!" Mikey said as both Leo and April stared at him, Leo knew April was awake as he peered behind himself and noticed her sitting on the couch looking at Mikey.

"I was in a world full of trees growing pizza's, and clowns would steal and cut down the pizza tree's." Mikey said surprised and looked upset about it. Leo and April only stared at him confusingly and Leo turned back to watch the TV, "How about you go make breakfast?" Leo suggested to Mikey since he was the one who always made breakfast. Mikey smiled widely and hopped to his feet "No problem!" Mikey said giggling happily walking off towards the kitchen.

"You're always up this early?" April asked, looking at Leo as she crossed herself onto the couch getting comfortable. Leo didn't bother to look back at her, he was pretty bored at the moment, "Could say something like that." Leo replied to her. April knew he seemed really bored not being able to find anything to watch, let alone being stuck down here until dark without much to do, April smirked a bit as she crouched off the couch and moved her bag over to open it. Leo peered over his shoulder hearing April scrounging through her bag again and was confused, she pulled out some cards and showed them to Leo, they were uno cards. "Wanna play some Uno when Mikey gets done?" April asked him. Leo tilted his head a bit, "Don't you have an apartment to get to soon?" He asked, reminding her. April only chuckled a bit, "The staff don't open the check in until Eight. I have plenty of time to spare." She said smiling, waving the cards in the air. Leo gave her a small smile and stood up, he walked over to her and handed her the remote, "If you can find something to watch until Mikey gets done, then absolutely." Leo said. April put down the cards on top of her bag and accepted the remote and sat back on the couch, she remembered a channel she used to watch all the time when younger that had pretty good shows on it and thought maybe it would be enough.

Mikey came back a few minutes later, carrying three plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, hashbrowns and potatoes. He threw a plate at Leo who was sitting below the couch next to April not even looking at Mikey, Leo caught the plate not even harming the food on it, even when mid air. The sudden throw shocked April as she didn't even notice it and Leo did as he moved the plate into his lap and started eating, she noticed a plate of nice smelling food next to her face, It was Mikey handing her the plate with a smile on his face. She grabbed the plate from him and placed it on her lap and started to also eat, and it was very good. "You're a good cook, Mikey." She said nomming on some bacon. "Aww yeah, you bet!" Mikey said, letting out a large burp as he had already finished his plate.

After everyone was done eating, the three would begin playing Uno and April had to explain the game to Mikey, even though he had already played it before but forgot. "UNO!" Mikey shouted as he giggled with one card left in his hand. "Come on Leo, Don't let him win again!" April said sobbing with like a dozen cards in her possession. Mikey has won pretty much all the games somehow and he wasn't cheating, just very lucky and it ticked off Leo and April as they tried even teaming against him but it wasn't working. Leo put down a red card with the number five on it and it was April's turn, April also put down a red card with the number eight on it, and both her and Leo glared at Mikey as it was his turn. Mikey gave a huge smirk as he slammed the card down, it was a blue card with the number eight on it also, and placing the same number down even though it's a different color is allowed. April sobbed as she lowered the cards to the ground, Leo threw his cards at Mikey, "You gotta be cheating!" Leo said as he threw the cards. Mikey only laughed and jumped to his feet and started dancing, "Aww yeah, I am on a streak man! You can't beat !" Mikey laughed.

It was eight right on the dot and April made sure everything was packed and set before heading off to check into her apartment. Raph woke up at around seven thirty and went back to his room with a plate of leftover breakfast and Donnie was passed out on his computer desk as Leo told her he tends to stay up all night long experimenting and sleep almost all day. Splinter always stayed in the dojo or his room within the dojo and hardly ever came out unless needed or to check up on things. Leo helped April to the nearest manhole outside the lair which still was pretty far and also helped her with her bags to get out from the sewers, April turned and looked at Leo who was about to head back down, "Thank you, again. I mean it, Leo." April said with a grateful smile on her face. Leo looked at her and returned the smile with a wave, "We'll see you later, don't worry." He said as he climbed back down into the sewers and put the manhole back over, taking his leave.

April sighed as she walked out of the alley to see what street she was on, and it was actually the street she needed to be on as the apartments were directly across the street, April gave a happy sigh "That was not the nearest manhole you silly…" April chuckled, knowing Leo purposely helped her all the way to the street she needed to be on now. April crossed the street and entered the building as the staff were there checking people in, April checked herself in receiving the key needed in order to go into her new home and went up towards her apartment, she had to use the elevator due to her ankle, plus she didn't wanna hassle her large bag up the stairs. April entered the apartment and noticed it was left just as it was when her parents had left it to move to the farmhouse two hundred miles out of New York, so she had some cleaning and arranging to do to suit it to her liking. April only sighed in annoyance and collapsed onto the bed in her new bedroom, It was a long night last night and she was still tired, she ended up passing out on the bed.

Many hours had passed and it was already about six pm, and was getting dark out. April woke up and lifted herself, her hair was crazy and all over after being in a nice deep sleep, she pulled some hair strands out of her mouth and limped her way to the restroom to fix herself up and wake up so she could start fixing the apartment up since she got some more rest. She sighed as she splashed water onto her face, she limped her way back to the bed and scrounged through her bag grabbing her toothbrush and toothpaste and heading back to the restroom to start to brush. Before she could start brushing she heard knocking from her balcony door, she peered out from the restroom with the toothbrush being held in her mouth and toothpaste bottle in her hand, It was Leo and Mikey as they waved at her from the other end of the glass door. April was happy to see them as she put her toothbrush and paste down on the counter and walked over to the door opening it for them.

"Hey April! How's the new life kicking!?" Mikey asked her as both him and Leo walked in. April only sighed unfortunately and looked around the area, "Well, I haven't even started cleaning or fixing anything up considering I took a nap instead. I just woke up a few minutes ago." She said with a small sob of disappointment. "What are you guys up too? No Donnie or Raph?" She asked, turning to them. "Raph and Donnie had to stay and do some training with Splinter." Leo said to her, "Aww yeah, Splinter wanted me and Leo to come check up on ya and see if ya needed any help." Mikey added on. April looked at Leo and Mikey's arms and legs, they were bulked with muscles and she smirked getting an idea. "You guys can move furniture easily, right?" She said pointing at their muscles, "Or are those just for show?" She asked. Mikey poked his arm muscle and giggled, Leo only looked at April raising an eye "We didn't train since we could walk for nothing, of course we can." Leo stated. "That's child's play, bro!" Mikey said with a nervous chuckle, since he isn't nearly as strong as Leo.

Mikey was browsing around the apartment looking at all the weird stuff that was laying around, he grabbed something that caught his eye and walked back over to April and Leo and showed it to them. "What's this? It's neat." Mikey said, asking April as he showed her it. April stared at it and raised an eyebrow, "It's a small ancient statue my parents had before moving out of here, you can keep it if you want, I don't want it, nor does it really have any value anymore." April said, smiling at Mikey.

Leo and Mikey listened to April as she explained to them where she wanted certain furniture and which one's to go out by the dumpster, she didn't care if they threw it off the balcony as long as they weren't too loud doing so, it is an apartment after all, there were people still next door. Mikey was staring at the statue as he listened to April, But before any of them could get to work, they all heard a knock on the door that April knew she was not expecting any more company at all. "You guys better-" April began, only to turn around and see Leo and Mikey already gone, "Hide…" She finished without knowing. "Man, you guys are good." She said silently in astonishment.

April noticed they went out to the balcony and she smiled as she walked to the door, but as she opened it and noticed a familiar face, that smile faded instantly. "Jenna…" April said in shock, standing in front of her with the door open was a young black haired girl wearing a gangster outfit with a purple dragons tattoo on her right shoulder, and with a bunch of men by her side as guards also with purple dragon tattoos. "What a surprise...I haven't seen you since you left." April gulped nervously. Jenna only smirked at her, "Hello, April." She said as she shoved April to the side and walked past her into the apartment as her men followed behind. Leo peered through the glass of the door placing a hand on his sword hilt, April noticed this and shook her head, not wanting him to expose himself for her sake again. Leo looked annoyed at the fact of these people barging into April's home, but he didn't hesitate to listen to her, removing his hand from his sword.

April only wiped her shoulder from the shove and followed behind but not closely at all, "Can I help you, Jenna? Do you need something after not showing or even contacting us for a long time?" April asked, keeping her distance. Jenna was looking around the apartment, almost like she was looking for something in particular. "Yes actually, thanks for asking. Where's that little ancient statue your parents kept here, huh?" Jenna said as she moved an angry gaze towards April. April realized immediately what she was talking about and also realized Mikey took it with him and was outside the balcony with it most likely, she didn't respond as she acted out like she had no idea what Jenna was getting at. Jenna only sighed angrily and snapped her fingers, the men around her began to spread out and started tearing the place apart to look for it. April only had an annoyed and unamused look on her face as she didn't really care considering most of the stuff in the apartment currently wasn't even hers let alone arranged the way she wanted it.

"Found it, M'lady!" One of the men said quickly, running to Jenna and handing the small statue to her. April was shocked but didn't show that she was, Mikey must've put it back without her realizing it. Jenna didn't bother looking over the statue, she only glared at April and smirked, "Well my job is done, good day." Jenna said as she signaled her men and left the apartment closing the door behind them. Leo and Mikey came back in from the balcony as April walked closer over to them with a sigh, "Well now we have more of a mess to pick up." She said, disappointed. Mikey was about to say something but all three of them came to a sudden spook and shock as the front door was kicked open, it was Jenna and her men again. Leo and Mikey instantly went into a defensive stance, Jenna had an extremely angry look on her face, "Got some costume freak friends I see!" She mocked them. Leo nor Mikey showed any agitation towards the statement as they glared at her, Jenna ignored them as she moved her angry gaze at April, Jenna waved the statue she had taken from April's apartment, and it was broken in half. April was extremely confused on what Jenna was getting at, Jenna only growled as she marched angrily towards April but was stopped by a sudden blade in her face. Leo had drawn one of his swords and pointed it directly at Jenna keeping her away from April, and giving her a dead serious look telling her he wasn't messing around, especially for a so called costume freak.

April didn't even notice, let alone hear Leo draw his sword, she turned her look from Leo back to Jenna. "Look, Jenna, I honestly have no idea what you are getting at, if you mean the statue is fake which I am assuming you are, then I have no idea regarding the real one. Just like you, I was never attracted or interested in my parents antiques or decorations because they were always creepy and weird. So that must've been fake all along or they replaced it? I don't know, ok." April explained herself regarding all she knew about that small statue, she also grabbed Leo's arm that was holding the sword gently and lowered it slowly, showing Jenna she wasn't kidding or lying either. Jenna angrily glared at April then looked at Leo who also angrily glared at her, she honestly was slightly afraid of Leo and Mikey due to them having legit Ninja weapons on them, Jenna growled loudly and left the apartment again but the door was still open due to the lock being broken.

April sat down on the floor as her ankle was hurting from standing on it too long, Mikey was also about to say something again but was stopped by Leo as he waved his sword in front of him shaking his head due to him knowing what Mikey was wanting to say. Leo also knew and could sense Jenna was still at the door hiding against the wall listening in to see if April was lying, Leo acted out, "Any idea what she wanted it for?" Leo asked, looking down at April who sat down next to him and Mikey as he sheathed his sword. April only sighed sadly, "Not a clue, her name is Jenna. She is my adoptive sister, my parents adopted her when her parents died in a fire at age ten. She has lived with us ever since at the farmhouse two hundred miles away from here, me and her never really got along, like at all, considering she is three years older than me. She thinks she is more mature and the better one, so as soon as she hit eighteen, she left us and was never heard from since then. So for three years I only heard rumors about the purple dragons in New York city, which is a gang of gangsters full of muggers and bad people, and I heard she had possibly joined them. But I didn't really believe it since it was just rumors, but now I do after literally just seeing her with the tattoo." April waved her hands in the air with a large sigh and fell back onto her back. "I wish we got along, would've loved to have a good sister or brother who actually cared like you guys do. But my parents always collected weird and creepy old stuff to this day, so I don't know why she wanted just that one small statue unless it really did have some value to it for money. But then again, The Purple Dragons are just a psychotic gang who enjoy stealing and hurting people." April said with another sigh.

Leo noticed Jenna had left finally after April was done explaining, probably finally realizing she was telling the truth. Leo walked over to the busted door and checked it over before closing the door and forcing it closed nodding to Mikey, Mikey sat down on the floor too and pulled an item out from under his belt and waved it above April with a smile on his face. April noticed it was the same small statue and it shocked her as she shot upward and snatched it from him, "How did you…?" April began to ask, but had no words. "Apparently there were two of them to begin with." Leo said, kicking the door into place so it would hold and stay shut. "Yeah, I noticed this was the real one compared to the other because of how it felt and looked. And I kinda just grabbed the real one instead of the fake…" Mikey said. Leo walked back over and sat on the floor next to them, "The fake one Jenna brought back was broken in half, so they probably were after it for a reason, and whatever it was, is inside the statue maybe." Leo said, pointing at the statue in April's hand. April looked at it and back at Mikey, she handed the statue back to Mikey, "You break it, I was going to give it to you to begin with, plus you're the prankster, no? Which means you must be good at breaking stuff." April said smiling at him.

Mikey chuckled nervously, but sadly agreed with her because she wasn't wrong as he grabbed the statue back from her hand. All three of them glared at the statue in Mikey's hand before he went for it to break it in half, Mikey managed to easily break the statue in half. Mikey pulled out a small piece of technology, it was about the size of a regular computer drive but it also looked like it was no ordinary earth related technology as it had strange markings on it. Leo grabbed it from Mikey as he instantly knew what to do, "Should let Donnie check it out, he should know what's stored in it on one of his computers." Leo said as he circled the drive in his hand, and all three of them looked at it confusingly.

A loud crash came from the front door, and all three of them instantly looked over to see and what they saw was a large man charging them as they were still sitting on the floor. Mikey took action fast and jumped at April as she and him jumped out of the way of the incoming boulder man, Leo didn't have time to do the same thing and instantly stood up crossing his arms in front of him to block the incoming hit. The hit was applied with a lot of muscle force that sent Leo flying a bit, he flew out the balcony door and hit the railings. "LEO!" Both Mikey and April yelled, Mikey told April to stay put as he leapt into action, charging the large man who ran in and attacked.

Leo was laying against the railing, he let out a small gasp for air as it felt like a bus had hit him, he also felt pain in his right arm, he looked down noticing a large cut on his right upper arm and looked back up as he lifted himself up still leaning against the railing for support from the hit. He noticed it was the same large man from back in the alley where he had helped April and another girl, he also noticed the man had a purple dragons tattoo on his right shoulder, which means Jenna must've sent him up to attack. The man also had blades attached sideways on his arms, and that must've what had pierced his arm. Leo was confused on how he was here either way, the cops should've contained him unless something went wrong back in the alley. 'Did Jenna find out about the chip?' Leo thought as he looked down at his left hand where the chip still was.

Leo was lost in thought with the occuring incident as multiple situations were going through his head, he snapped out of it when he felt a jolt of pain from his injured arm. Leo let out a small painful yelp and quickly turned his head to look over, he noticed April who had made her way to him, she was on her knees with one of her hands placed on his injury, covering her hand in blood. April wasn't even looking at him, as she had a very angry but also sad look on her face that confused Leo as he looked at her.

April was staring at Leo's cut on his arm, blood was rushing from it constantly and it wasn't no normal cut. She knew it was pretty bad, especially with how large and deep it was, stretching from his wrist to his elbow and was decently wide. Mikey had to jump and grab her to push her out of the way and again Leo had to take the hit for them, because the man rushing them could've easily turned his attack back at them and she knew this. Again, Leo saved her, and she was getting tired of it. She looked over to where Mikey was, who was fighting the large man and toying with him, dodging the attacks he threw at Mikey. She looked back down at Leo's injury, lifting her hand and looking at the blood. "I noticed you guys try your best not to kill, and I understand that...but why do you guys risk your own lives to fight against someone who has full intention of killing you if you can't do the same back? Like I know killing is bad, but it's a life or death situation." April said, still not looking up at Leo as she was angered with him still, tears were starting to come out of her eyes as well.

Leo sighed, grabbing April's hand off his injury and moving it away from it as he turned to face her, crouching. He placed the chip he had into her other hand, "Because it's the honorable thing to do, Splinter didn't teach us to kill people for a living, he taught us to protect ourselves and the people around us we care about. April, you only have one life, and everyone deserves a second chance even if they have the intent to kill at first. If you're mad at me for saving you again, then that's fine, it was my choice to make, you could have endangered us after I showed myself to you, but you chose not to and kept us secret when you could have easily spread it through the media about us. Because of this, we trust you and of course we're going to protect you, you're family now." Leo said to April who started crying more after not holding back the tears any longer, Mikey and Donnie considered April a sister after Donnie had talked with April, and after Mikey had played games with her, so Leo considered her family considering that was the case now.

"I have to go help Mikey now, you gotta stay here." Leo told her as he stood up about to run towards the fight, April stopped him by grabbing his hand and looking up at him, still with an angry look on her face. Leo only peered over his shoulder looking back at her confusingly, "Don't you two dare loose, and you are staying here after the fight to let me tend to that injury in return for all the saving." April said to him as she looked back down at his still bleeding injury. Leo only gave her a worried look, "I don't think that's a good idea… with how much ruckus has been happening in your apartment, cops are sure to arrive soon." Leo said. April only growled lowly "I'm well aware, and you don't need to worry about it, I have a plan, but you won't like it." She said, letting go of his hand and looking down at her own hands.

Leo only looked at her, still with a worried and uneasy look on his face, he knew she wanted to help him in return for the amount of times he had jumped in and assisted or saved her. Leo could also tell she knew he had taken the hit earlier on purpose, the man could've easily turned his attack directly towards Mikey and her, hurting one of them instead of him. And Leo couldn't honestly bear the fact of seeing his brother or an innocent get injured when he has an option he could make to prevent it. "Fine." Leo sighed uneasily as he drew one of his swords from his sheath and darted to assist Mikey with the purple dragon man. April only stayed put still glaring at her hands, she looked at the chip in her right hand where Leo had placed it for her to hold onto, but she couldn't move her eyes off her left which was almost covered with Leo's blood from his arm injury, "Idiot…" She mumbled.


	4. Chapter 4: Disaster & Trust

**Chapter 4: Disaster & Trust**

After encountering a strange technological chip, April, Leo and Mikey are ambushed in April's own apartment by a large man who is in a cult known as the Purple Dragons in which they always have some sort of Purple Dragon tattoo on their body. The man was presumed to be contained and in jail, but they thought wrong after this. Leo's right arm gets badly injured as the man was equipped with slight armor and blades attached to his arms that had pierced Leo's arm and right through his upper armor padding, as Leo had chose to take the incoming hit head on as he knew the man could easily direct his attack at Mikey and April and he didn't want that.

April was left on the balcony as Leo had jumped into battle to help Mikey with the enemy, she gazed at the blood on her left hand that was from Leo's injury after she had ran over to see if he was ok, and it seemed like it, but it still bothered her as he was losing quite a bit of blood. She moved her gaze at the strange chip in her right hand and moved it around, she then looked at the enemy that Leo and Mikey were fighting in the large living room area, the enemy was the same man that she had encountered in the alley last night that was helping two muggers hijack a poor girl and pinned her against a wall until Leo had arrived saving her, and presumed that the man was arrested. But he was here, in her apartment, fighting… and this confused April.

"I saw the cops and ambulance pull in before investigating Leo's little rescue… All the men were still passed out in the alley…" April began thinking as she watched the fight. "Maybe he broke free, or was let loose?" April stopped talking to herself as she remembered and came to a sudden realization where she could get answers. April quickly grabbed her phone out of her pocket and dialed a number, Leo wasn't wrong at all, cops would be sure to show up anytime now with all the ruckus and damage being done to the apartment. "April?" A voice came from the phone as she held it to her ear, "Adam!" April shouted as a loud crash could be heard, Mikey was thrown into a glass table but easily recovered. Adam was a cop, a cop chief to be exact and in command of most NYPD. Adam was like a second father to April, he was always the bestest friend she has had since she was a little girl and a close friend to her parents to this day, and she trusted him with her life.

"Is everything ok, what was that loud crash?" Adam asked and was about to ask more questions but April stopped him. "Not now, can you come to the apartment, like right this instant before any cops arrive, please, I'll explain everything when you get here." April asked him as she was also sounding rushed to purposely worry him. "Alright, on my way right now." Adam said as he hung up the phone. April sighed in relief and hoped he would get here before any cops arrived.

Leo had only one sword drawn, mostly to block the incoming sword attacks from the enemy's arms in which had blades attached to them. The man was pretty huge and muscular, but also fat and Mikey enjoyed playing around him because his attacks were decently slow, Leo was taking his time to observe the enemy and figure out a way to take them out. April noticed movement her through the balcony, it was Jenna, April stood up and looked over the railing and saw Jenna and her men about to enter a car. Jenna stopped next to the car door and peered up at the balcony, noticing April who was looking over and directly at her with an angry look. "Why are you doing this!?" April shouted at her, Jenna only smirked "Oh don't worry, I only sent him to kill your little friends, not you." Jenna entered the car as she chuckled along with her men and then drove off.

April growled slowly as Jenna had driven off but stopped as she noticed a cop car instantly pull over in front of the apartment, it was Adam and she was happy as he darted out of the car and into the apartment. After a minute or two, Adam appeared at the door and was already halfway through it but stopped with sudden shock and he noticed the fight happening and about to draw his gun only seeing two large mutant turtles armed with ninja weapons fighting a large man with armor on and blades attached to his arms. "Don't shoot the turtles!" April shouted at him as she approached the balcony door and hid behind it a bit. Leo had dodged an attack the enemy tried to throw at him as Mikey pulled the man back with his chain and grabbing his attention, Leo ended up landing next to Adam and only looked at him quickly then back towards where April was, giving her an angry and confused look. April only returned Leo's reaction with an innocent smile, she waved her hand at them asking for Adam to come over to her.

The chain Mikey had on the enemy broke loose and the man came running at Leo and Adam, Leo grabbed Adam as they both jumped out of the way as the enemy crashed into the wall. Leo helped Adam up to his feet and pointed towards April, "Go to her." Leo said, pushing him a bit in her direction. Adam was extremely confused but just went with it as Leo did just save him, he rushed towards April as April grabbed his hand pulling him into the balcony area. Leo and Mikey continued to observe and toy with the enemy a bit longer, allowing April to do whatever she was doing.

"What the heck IS GOING ON!?" Adam shouted at April as he crouched near her and glared at her. "You've been here two days and your place is already getting destroyed by monsters!?" Adam added. April only looked at him angrily, "Those monsters saved me more than once, and they aren't monsters, they are mutants, turtle mutants and my friends." She stated with a serious angry look at Adam. "Look, I need you to keep the cops out until they can beat that guy, please." April asked him. Adam sighed, "Apartment mayhem was all over the police radio as soon as I arrived, lucky for you I told them all to stand by outside the apartments and not enter until given further orders." Adam said as he moved his look at her hand, "Thats…" April sighed in relief and noticed him looking at her hand, the one just about covered in blood, her expression of relief dropped to a sad look as she lifted her hand a bit and also looked at it. "Don't worry….Not my blood…" She said sadly and pointed towards Leo who was still fighting. Adam looked to where she was pointing, which was one of the turtles, he noticed the one in blue and black had a bad injury on his arm and was constantly bleeding. He moved his look back at April, "You said they have protected you more than once, and I am guessing the one in blue protected you again?" He said looking at her hand again, "What exactly is going on and what are they?" He asked her.

April looked at Adam and back down below the balcony as she noticed multiple cops arrive but didn't move from their position or enter the apartment as they were ordered. She was grateful for this and would explain as fast as she could to him since there are still higher ranked cops than him that could eventually order them to engage, she moved her look back at Adam and nodded and sat on her knees. She pointed at Mikey and Leo's direction of the ongoing fight, "They are known as mutants, and to be exact, the one you call in blue, his name is Leonardo, the one in orange is Michelangelo, they saved me and helped me since I arrived here in New York and are practically my first friends even though they aren't human. And I am sure you remember Jenna, well, Leo and Mikey came to help me with arrangements of the apartments and she appeared out of nowhere about an hour ago looking for a statue that my parents had kept here, and apparently she was after this chip." April waved the chip in front of him. "She then came barging in breaking my door a bit as the statue was a secondary one she came across and was fake, so no chip. And Leo and Mikey were being protective as she was being aggressive towards me and she didn't like that, so she sent that large man up here to kill them and not me. That man I also came across last night in an alley with two other muggers before Leo came and took care of it, and I even saw the cops arrive as he was knocked out. So my question for you is, what the hell is he doing here in my apartment, I thought he got arrested." April explained and asked Adam.

It was a lot for Adam to take in, but he understood most of it. He turned his gaze to the fight and looked at the large man, the man matched a description that occured last night. "He broke free from the cops that were attempting to contain him last night, apparently he wasn't fully knocked out. And it seems, he is also part of the Purple Dragons." Adam stated. April nodded at him as they both looked at the chip in April's hand, "What could they want this for?" April questioned. Leo gave Mikey hand signs which were orders on what to do, Mikey nodded at Leo and pulled out his gusari chain and swung it a few times before throwing it and wrapping it around the enemy. Leo sheathed his katana as he observed throughout the fight that his neck had a gap from the armor he was wearing, Mikey restrained the man with the chains preventing him from moving and attacking for a short period as Mikey wasn't that strong. Leo darted around the enemy and jumped onto his shoulders placing both hands into a fold and puncturing the pressure points on the man's neck which is normally a technique commonly used to knock out opponents, Leo applied more force to it this time as it seemed to not keep this man knocked out for long last time.

The man collapsed to the ground as Leo leapt off clutching his injured arm painfully. Both Leo and Mikey were steadily out of breath as the fight did last awhile, but was pretty much toying around and observing the enemy to learn the aspects of his movements. April stood up quickly and grabbed a random cloth on the ground rushing to Leo, she wrapped the cloth around his Injury and looked at Mikey who retracted his gusari chain and folded it. Mikey put the chain away as April called to him and tossed him something that he instantly looked up and caught, Mikey looked down at his hand to see that it was the chip. "Can you take it to Donnie to see what's on it? I am curious to know why the Purple dragons are after it." April stated as she was looking at Mikey, she moved her look too Leo who was looking exhausted but was also angry with her and she didn't care if he was, he had lost quite a bit of blood and too much blood loss can result to dizziness and tiredness and he was showing signs of this and wanted to treat his injury asap. "Leo's staying here too." April said giving Leo a persistent angry look as she was putting pressure on his injury with the cloth to slow down the bleeding.

Leo held back a small painful yelp as he stayed silent, he was too angered and exhausted to argue with April and he did agree with her he would stay and allow her to help him with his wound. She did warn him he wouldn't like what was going to happen but he wasn't expecting to constantly expose himself in the span of only two days for the first time of going top side, Splinter will for sure being overly angry with him when he finds out about what happened here, especially exposing himself to a cop of all people. Mikey looked at Leo hoping for a negative order that she was kidding about him staying here that had a cop in the building along with cops surrounding the building, sadly Leo only looked down and away from them all without a word or signal. Mikey didn't like this, but he trusted April and he knew Leo did too as he moved his look back at April and clutched the chip in his hand "You got it." Mikey said as he turned and ran towards the balcony passing Adam who was slowly walking up towards April, Mikey had climbed the apartment building to the roof and was gone as he would return to the lair to give Donnie the chip and bad news.

April looked at Adam who was beside her, "You can't tell anyone, and I mean no one about them. Please, I trust you more than my own parents right now." April asked him with a worried and sad look on her face, Adam noticed she held onto Leo as if protecting him from any incoming bad thing that Adam could pull on him. Adam could also tell she cared about these turtle mutants a lot even though she has only known them for two days, Adam watched April grow up since she was just a little girl and always played and did stuff with her and was her only friend, he was happy for her more than anything. He smiled at her "You have my word April, but you gotta promise to explain more to me and the info about that chip regarding the Purple Dragons." April's sad expression turned to a very happy looking one as she looked at Adam, "Go treat him in your new room, I'll keep the cops from entering that room specifically." Adam added on as he pointed towards the open bedroom door. Luckily for April there was a restroom with the bedroom that had a first aid kit in it, so she nodded to him as she helped and assisted Leo to the bedroom.

Adam had the cops come up to the apartment that waited outside to restrain the large man Leo and Mikey took down, and just as they were ordered, they stayed away and out from the bedroom as they all investigated elsewhere in the apartment. April dug through the restroom cabinets looking for the first aid as Leo sat criss crossed on the bed still giving the silent treatment, she didn't care if he did and with how angry he seemed to be with her, she didn't wanna encourage him to talk anyway at the moment as he looked like he was about to pass out from tiredness. She knew it wasn't just because of blood loss, the man he was fighting was pretty much focusing on wearing out Leo more than Mikey, and she could think of multiple reasons why. Mikey is always pretty much full of energy and not easy to wear out, Leo was injured and pretty much used that to his advantage, but it could have also been that he remembered Leo's substantial looks from back in the alley last night and wanted payback and was pretty much very angry.

Leo's wound was bad, the cut was long and pretty deep, the blade did shred through his black bandages and armor leather hand padding and directly into his skin causing constant bleeding through the entire fight since it happened. So of course blood loss would take place, but she was glad it wasn't worse and was just a large bad cut on the arm, if it was something more fatal or severe the blood loss could result towards leading to death, but in this case it resulted to unconconscious, but still, even a injury like the cut on Leo's arm could still lead to a fatal if not treated after a while. April was grateful she was into medical schooling, it was probably her best class throughout school at the farmhouse so she knew what she needed to do, and Leo's injury would definitely need stitches.

April found the kit as she happily grabbed it, she also grabbed a clean cloth and wet it with warm water and pulled out a needle. She stood at the entrance of the restroom door, "I heard you're afraid of needles, no?" April said raising and showing Leo the needle in her hand. Leo only looked at the needle and back at her confusingly as he raised an eye, "That would be Raph, not me." Leo said, showing hardly any reaction to it. April raised an eyebrow as she walked over to him, sitting next to him on the bed also crossed, she grabbed his injured arm and let it relax on her lap as she placed the warm cloth on the wound, the warmth normally would help slow down bleeding and she sort of needed the bleeding to slow down or stop so she could see where she was stitching. She sighed sadly "Guess I heard wrong." Leo looked at April a bit and noticed she seemed worried, and didn't like the situation, let alone all that has happened, especially her new home getting decimated by Purple Dragons.

"Guessing Donnie told you some facts?" Leo asked as he looked at her confusingly. April only had both her hands on his injured arm, staring at it as blood seeped through the cloth. She nodded, "Just what you guys were afraid of… I kinda mixed you with Raph there. But one thing does bother me, he doesn't know what you're afraid of." April looked at Leo, "What are you scared of, Leo?" Leo gave her a somewhat surprised look, but looked away from her and back down, "Losing the people I care about… My brothers, You, Splinter…" Leo stated as it just came out, he hasn't told anyone what he was afraid of, his fear was only known by Splinter alone. April looked back down at his arm, "Does it hurt?" She asked him. Leo looked back at her giving a confused look wondering why she was asking such an obvious question, "Of course it hurts…" he exclaimed. April moved her gaze back up at him looking unamused, "You're giving that look like, why would I ask such an obvious question?" Leo only reacted with hesitation as he had no words to respond, but was suddenly engulfed. April had suddenly moved and hugged Leo, Leo was too surprised at the sudden action and very confused as he placed his uninjured arm on her back confusingly.

"Because I care about you too, Leo. If anything happened to you or Mikey, I don't know what I would do… You guys are the only friends I have ever made in my entire life. I don't care if I've only known you for two days, Adam has been the only friend I've had since I was a little girl, I don't care if you guys are talking mutants or monsters or whatever, you still have human emotions and a caring heart." April exclaimed as she wouldn't let go of him due to her emotions getting the best of her. "You guys have been there for me the past two days, what do you expect me to think and ask?" She stated as she let go of him and then gave him an angry look, Leo was practically speechless as he looked at her confused still, due to the angry look she was giving him. "And you need to stop being so reckless, don't sacrifice yourself ever!" She yelled at him as she shook him a bit, "And don't pass out on me until I stitch you up! Idiot!" She exclaimed.

"Ok ok! Jeez!" Leo exclaimed as he stopped her from shaking him, April sat back down angrily and placed the cloth back on his injured arm and growled lowly. April could tell Leo was having a hard time staying awake as he slumped over looking down again closing his eyes, she was practically going to be an ass on purpose as she grabbed the needle she placed on top of the kit next to her. "AaAAahh OUCH!" Leo instantly shouted and looked at April angrily who smirked at him slightly, "Oops, probably should've said I was going to start stitching." She stated with a small chuckle.

April placed a hand on top of Leo's injury, she had already finished stitching and wrapping the wound after a couple minutes had passed. Leo was pretty much passed out on the bed as he couldn't stay awake any longer, so she let him rest. She worried the injury would leave a scar considering it was pretty bad and deep as she looked at the wrapped wound and sighed, she placed a blanket on Leo and cleaned up the mess on the bed putting stuff back in the restroom. April sat back on the bed and grabbed the remote to the TV that was in front of the bed, turning it on. She sighed as her apartment mayhem was already on the late night news, cops were still in the apartment as only an hour had passed since the incident, so she decided to give Donnie a call to see if Mikey made it back and if he found anything regarding the Chip. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed Donnie's number that he had given her to stay in communication with them.

"April, you ok? Mikey just got here about twenty minutes ago and told me what happened." Donnie asked as he answered her call. "Yeah it's all good." April began, "Yo, I got me a pizza lowrider!" Mikey shouted in the background causing April to giggle slightly. April peered over her shoulder giving a worried expression as she looked at Leo who was pretty much still unconscious and resting, "Is he always this reckless?" April asked Donnie as he was trying to shut up Mikey. "What?" Donnie said confusingly as he didn't understand her due to him being distracted with Mikey. April sighed, "Nothing, have you found anything regarding that chip?" She asked turning back and watching the TV.

"Yeah actually, Mikey instantly just handed it to me and started jabbering a bunch of nonsense. I just opened it a few minutes ago, and apparently the chip contains a blueprint for building a teleporter not of earth. Like it even has materials listed that I don't even know what they are…" Donnie stated and explained to April. "A teleporter?" April confusingly questioned as she stared at the TV confused, wondering what the hell the Purple Dragons wanted a teleporter for, let alone no man has ever been able to build one on earth nor scientist.


	5. Chapter 5: The Chip

**Chapter 5: The Chip**

"A teleporter?" April questioned as she was currently on the phone with Donnie, hearing Mikey singing happily in the background goofing around. "Are you sure there's nothing else? Like a plan for a robbery or something?" April asked as she stared at the TV in front of her. "Yeah, it's just one file, and it's just the one blueprint listing materials and everything needed to build a teleporter. What exactly is going on here and what is this?" Donnie asked April as he was pretty much forced to open and check out the strange chip when Mikey arrived and practically didn't explain anything very well and sounded like a jabber.

April sighed as she was getting tired of explaining so much stuff tonight but just went with it. "Well while you and Raph were training, Leo and Mikey were going to help me out with fixing up my apartment but we were interrupted by my long lost sister who is part of a cult gang called the Purple Dragons who also thinks they own New York, so they are pretty much everywhere causing trouble as they are also known for mugging, stealing, ya name it. She was looking for an ancient statue in which there was two here apparently, she ended up taking the fake one while the real one we found out had that chip in it, so we knew she was after that chip, and she kinda barged her way in after finding out it was fake and encountered Leo and Mikey and I guess she was slightly afraid of them or something, so she sent someone up here to kill Leo and Mikey. Leo got pretty badly hurt, but he's fine, he's currently resting, and I sent Mikey with the chip to you so you could open it to see what was on it and what they were after it for." April explained the situation to Donnie.

"Hang on, you said ancient statue. Any idea what it was called, or what it looked like?" Donnie asked. April squinted her eyes as she tried to remember and think real hard, but luckily for her Adam creaked the door open and slid his way in, he looked at Leo who was still passed out on the bed and back at April who had turned and looked at him. Adam waved at her and smiled as he noticed she was on the phone, April pretty much smirked at him and left him confused. "Adam can you go find a small ancient broken in half statue laying somewhere on the floor out in the living area?" April asked him. "Uh, sure?" Adam said as he slid back out the door.

"Adam?" Donnie questioned April. "Yeah a friend of mine, a really close friend." She exclaimed. "And Leo is still with you?! Does he know about Leo?! And your place is surrounded with cops at the moment!? Why would you keep him there?!" Donnie started to freak out. "Wait how do you know cops flooded the area?" April questioned him. "I hacked a street camera and I can see the entire outside of the apartment." He exclaimed to her. April wasn't too surprised as Donnie did tell her he was the tech brother of the team and his intelligence was off the charts, "Ok well calm down, yes, he knows about Leo and Mikey but I promise you with that you can trust him, he's a police captain and he's the only reason of keeping all these cops from seeing and coming across Leo at the moment. I told you, he is fine." April said reassuring him, trying to calm him down. Donnie only sighed and agreed with her, he trusted her.

Adam entered the room again and had the two pieces of the statue that April told him to go find and get for her, April thanked him as she grabbed both parts and examined both looking for a name or signature of some sort. "Belvere?" She said as she read a name on one of the broken halves of the statue. "Belvere, a statue of unknown. It was known to be found around the Greeks so it was marked as a greek mythology statue and claimed to be ancient as it appeared extremely old. No one knew where it really came from, and it became very popular that duplicates were made, so that's probably the fake duplicate your so-called lost sister took. But if you really did have the actual real one, and this chip was inside it… then there's a chance it's not even from earth… I don't understand any of this writing or names listed on this blueprint, but it does open and function normally like any normal chip would with a computer. So I am just as lost as you are here with it on why the Purple Dragons are after it, unless they're after it for someone else? I don't know…" Donnie explained as he had researched it on the computer from his end. April had put him on speaker to let Adam listen in as she did promise him to keep him up to date regarding the Purple Dragons in return for keeping the turtles a secret from society.

"Thanks Donnie." April sighed sadly as they really didn't get anywhere on the one question. Adam sat next to April on the bed, "What about the car your sister drove off in? Do you have a description regarding it?" Adam reminded her and gave her a smile. April returned the smile thanking him and then turned away, "Donnie, can you track vehicles based on descriptional looks?" April asked him. "I mean… it will be harder than licence plate number tracking but it's not impossible for me." Donnie bragged as in short for yes he can. April rolled her eyes a bit and chuckled, "Well my sister did leave in a black painted taxi car painted with Purple Dragons on both sides of it and drove down south before I lost sight." She explained all that should be remembered from the vehicle her sister retreated in from, aside from the licence plate number as she wasn't paying attention to that.

"Found it. Seems like they went to an old abandoned building not too far out of the city, looks like a fighting arena for only Purple Dragons." Donnie said as he stood up from the chair he was sitting in, in front of the computer screens. "Me, Raph and Mikey will go check it out. I'm sure Leo would want us too." Donnie stated as he was about to hang up. "Woah woah, isn't that a bad idea? You said it yourself, without Leo you guys are an insufficient team." April said worriedly as she stood up from the bed. "Calm down, we aren't actually going to go fight them or engage them. Plus you said Leo got badly hurt and is resting, just let him rest, after a few hours he'll act like he has no injury at all. Trust me, we're just going to listen in and see if we can get any information regarding the statue and/or chip." Donnie said to April, reassuring her. "I know...but, I don't know, something just seems off. But if that's all you're doing then I guess it's ok to just listen in, but please, be careful." April sighed and hung up as Donnie had already told her they were heading out soon and would be fine as he also hung up.

April sighed as she turned around and looked at Leo, she knew he was going to be pissed with her for not stopping his brothers from going out without him to such a seemingly dangerous place, she didn't want to wake him up and already have him go into action again with a still fresh injury, she wanted his injury to heal a bit before anything as she noticed a little blood seeping through the bandages on his arm. April moved her look at Adam, "How long are the cops going to be around for?" She asked him, "They are about to leave in a few minutes actually. I will be sticking around to help clean your place up a bit, but first fix that broken front door." Adam said as he tilted his head trying to think if he had anything else to worry about. April only blinked a few times at him, "You don't have to stay and help with such a mess, I have the guys who can help me later on. Plus don't you have a son?" April exclaimed as she pointed at Leo to the topic she was referring to.

Adam peered over his shoulder and looked at Leo and then back at April, "Guys? How many of them exactly are there?" He asked her. April lifted her hand and raised four fingers as she showed him instead of saying it, Adam sighed as he stood up getting off the bed and wiping his knees. "My son does nothing but video games and hockey, I'm sure he doesn't even know I am gone still. I'll at least fix the door." He said to her as he waved her off and left the room.

Donnie was practically itching to leave the lair in a way, he was stuck in his lab pretty much all day and was tired of being in the dojo training with Raph as he was too aggressive. Donnie grabbed his bow and spun it before placing it on his back and ran out the lab into the living area. "Raph, Mikey, were heading out on a mission." Donnie shouted to them as he noticed both of them sitting on the couch reading magazines and comics. Raph and Mikey both looked at Donnie confusingly, Donnie rolled his eyes and motioned at them to just follow and come as he ran out the lair. Raph and Mikey looked at each and shrugged as Raph was the first to throw the magazine in his hands and onto the couch as he leaped off the couch and chased after Donnie, Mikey followed along after.

The three turtles exited a manhole cover and entered an empty alleyway, they made their way to the roofs before they continued further, Mikey and Donnie were stopped by Raph who looked angry but also confused, though he was always angry. "Donnie, what's going on here? And where's Leo, only Leo calls the shots like that." Raph questioned as he was primarily looking at Donnie, Donnie turned and looked at Raph and held up a tablet screen showing the teleporter blueprint that came from the chip Mikey had brought to him. "This is a teleporter blueprint, Mikey brought back a computer chip from April's place that was inside an ancient statue that I believe is not even from earth or mythology of the Greeks and all their ancient stuff regarding the past before we even came to be. Leo is still at April's, and will be there for a while, so I told April we would check out the source of the people who are looking for this blueprint and see if we can get any information from them. And I also made us these!" Donnie explained and pulled out three custom made phones, tossing each one towards Raph and Mikey. "There T-Phones, use them for communication between us if we get seperated." Donnie said as he waved his in the air as if scolding them that they aren't toys. "So we're spying on people because of some blueprint? Sounds fine to me." Raph smirked as he stared at the T-Phone.

It took the three of them a good while to reach the abandoned building that was completely surrounded and full of Purple Dragons. Donnie, Raph and Mikey all peered over from a nearby building on top of the roof and scouted the area, "Who the heck are all these guys?" Raph questioned. "Purple Dragons." Both Mikey and Donnie said as they looked at Raph, Raph only looked at Donnie then back at Mikey, "You know what's going on and I was left last in the blue?!" Raph lowly shouted at Mikey as he grabbed Mikey by the shoulders and started shaking him. "Wait… does Leo know too?!" Raph stopped and turned to Donnie who only looked unamused, but Donnie nodded at him. "Before you and I did, yes." Donnie also stated. Donnie raised an eye at how pissed Raph seemed to be over something so stupid but ignored it as he pulled out a small spyglass and peered through it to scan the building full of Purple Dragons for a way in.

Donnie dropped the spyglass in his hand, Mikey and Raph turned and glared at him confusingly as they noticed that Donnie was clinging and hiding against the wall of the roof. "There's way too many people…." Donnie exclaimed frightened, Raph growled at him and marched towards him grabbing him by the shell "And this is why you don't call the shots, come on Mikey!" Raph said, dragging Donnie behind him who went stiff from shyness and frighteness.

"For the love of god, quit clinging to me!" Raph lowly shouted at Donnie who was clinging to his arm, All three of the turtles were below the building that they were previously on top of the roof beforehand. Raph peered around the corner of the alleyway at the aimed building full of Purple Dragons, Mikey was only teasing and chuckling as he was poking at Donnie who was still stiff and clinging to Raph. "I see a way in, come on." Raph stated as he continued to drag Donnie along with him.

The three turtles easily snuck past a few Purple Dragon guards as they approached a way up to the roof of the building, they climbed their way up and came across a private room that had only two people in it who were talking. The turtles glanced from a window into the room as they listened in, it was two men, though one seemed normal but the other was covered in a black cloak and couldn't make them out. Donnie picked the lock of the window and opened it slightly as they listened in on the two men, "Where is that blueprint I asked for!?" The man in the dark cloak asked angrily. "Calm down, I sent one of my best associates to go find it as they knew where it was. They should be back any minute now." The other man said who seemed somewhat scared of the man he was confronting.

The door to the room opened as a young goth girl walked in, Mikey instantly jumped as he noticed who it was. "That's her, April's sister! Jenna!" Mikey whispered as he shook Donnie's shoulder letting him know. "So she's the one who started the drama at April's and sent someone to kill you and Leo and hurt Leo…?" Donnie whispered asking Mikey as he looked at him, Mikey nodded at him as he was correct. "What! Leo got hurt!? And who is this witch!?" Raph whispered angrily at his two brothers and glared at them growling silently. "Hahaha, Leo wimped out?!" Raph chuckled silently as he felt excitement considering he could never beat Leo in a dual or training. "Actually he took the hit on purpose to protect me and April…" Mikey stated as he directed his look at Raph who shut up instantly and regretted what he said.

Jenna stood straight in front of the normal man as her attention was directed at him mostly, "We failed to retrieve the item that has been requested, it was a fake." Jenna explained. "WHAT!?" The man in the dark cloak shouted angrily as he marched towards Jenna grabbing her by the shirt and glaring directly in her eyes, she was frightened at the sudden action. "W-we were interrupted by a couple of freaks… and… forced out..." She exclaimed to the man as she was slightly lying. The man dropped her, "Continue." He stated as he was curious who got in the way. "Some kind of turtle freaks, I don't know really. But they were hanging around some girl who had the statue for the blueprint, or at least I thought. I sent someone after them but that someone hasn't returned, which means they must've been defeated." She said to the cloaked man as she wiped at her shirt.

The man growled loudly, and it didn't sound like any normal typical growl or that of one from a human at least. The three turtles were slightly shocked at the sudden loud growl as something seemed very off, "A fake!?" The cloaked man growled again as he peered at the pockets of Jenna and noticed the broken in half statue that was very familiar to him. He instantly jolted and grabbed the statue from her pockets, this shocked Jenna as it was very fast. The man turned away from her as he gazed down at the broken statue in his hands, and crushed it into bits easily. He angrily growled loudly again and turned instantly to Jenna and the other man, he quickly removed his cloak and grew in size and apparently by the looks of it, also strength. Everyone saw this cloaked man clearly now as he roared in anger, he was a dragon like mutant, he growled in Jenna's face, "Look at me! I can easily wipe this entire place to pieces if I wanted to, but I need you and your scums in order to find that statue and the chip inside of it!" He yelled at Jenna and turned to look at the other man as he was also remarking it towards him.

Jenna had her eyes closed tightly and gulped in fear, but she wasn't afraid to ask the one question on her mind that wouldn't cease. "If you don't mind me asking… Why do you need the statue and chip inside of it? Isn't it just a normal chip and blueprint?" Jenna asked as she didn't dare look at the dragon mutant in the eyes. The dragon turned and looked at her and moved closer to her as he placed his hand under her chin and growled, "The chip is from my world, it was lost many many centuries ago here on this forsaken planet called earth. It contains a blueprint for a teleporter, which will be used to bring forth an army that will take over this forsaken boring planet!" He stated as he answered her question and slowly gave Jenna a scratch mark on her cheek that began to bleed, with one of his very sharp claws, showing his dominance.

The dragon mutant instantly began to sniff as he removed his claw from Jenna's cheek, he smelt something in the air. "Were being watched and listened upon." He remarked and instantly looked up towards the open window where the three turtles were as he gained a whiff of turtle smell from the air entering the window. The three turtles noticed this as the dragon mutant glared at them and let out a raging roar, wings appeared all of a sudden from his back as he growled "You must be the so called turtle freaks who got in the way!" He growled as he leapt from where he was standing at the three turtles. Raph instantly jumped back and grabbed Donnie and Mikey by the shells also pulling them back and out of the way as the dragon mutant flew straight through the window they were earlier peering through, he easily crashed through the window and broke most the stone structure around it that supported it. The three turtles could easily tell that this mutant was no ordinary mutant as he also remarked he was from another world, he was overwhelmingly powerful and strong and would most likely break or shatter someone's bone by just hitting them with the amount of force this dragon was showing and implementing.

Both Donnie and Mikey clinged to Raph as they screamed in fear and pointed at the dragon. "DUDE! I KNEW SOMETHING WAS OFF!" Mikey shouted frighteningly, "So much for staying out of combat…" Donnie sobbed. The dragon spun around and turned to face the three turtles who were looking up at him as he flew still in the air, "Will you two knock it off!" Raph shouted and shook his brothers off of him and growled angrily at the dragon, "I've been needing something to pound tonight! Bring it!" Raph shouted. "Raph, hold on! Getting hit by him could instantly break or shatter your bones, legitimately, Not even our shells will protect our ribs or spines enough to not break because of the impact he seems to have." Donnie shouted at him worriedly. Raph popped his knuckles and laughed, "Then I won't get hit!" The dragon let out another raged roar and smirked at Raph, "I like your enthusiasm, turtle!" he growled as he darted towards Raph.

"OH oh oh oh! I got it!" Mikey shouted excitedly as Raph dodged the incoming attack from the dragon, Donnie looked at Mikey confusingly, "What?" Donnie asked him. "Let's call him Dragor!" Mikey said excitedly as he pointed at the dragon giving him a nickname. "Mikey… that's actually not bad." Donnie stated as he placed his hand on his chin showing small amazement. "I know it is! I am Doctor Prankenstein after all!" Mikey said as he chuckled, Dragor instantly got up after crashing into the ground, missing his attack on Raph, he stood on all fours and let out a large growl and moved his gaze to Mikey and Donnie who were giving him a name and he didn't care at all. Dragor let out another large roar as his mouth and neck began to light up, Donnie instantly knew what that meant, "Raph, MOVE!" Donnie shouted at him.

Raph had no time to move as a line of blazing flames were shot out from Dragor's mouth and directly at him, Raph instantly popped into his shell and was sent crashing into the building wall from the force of the flames but thankfully enough the flames didn't seep through the open parts of the shell and burned him. Dragor turned his gaze back at Mikey and Donnie and growled as he charged at them raising his claws about to swipe them at the two turtles, both Mikey and Donnie were too freaked out at the sight of a dragon and clung to one another screaming in fear, "Were so dead!" Donnie sobbed as he clinged to Mikey as his eyes were clutched closed, not prepared for the incoming attack. The attack never came though, both Mikey and Donnie opened an eye and looked up and noticed Dragor's attack was blocked, it was Leo, his two swords were clinging with Dragor's claws and he was forced down on one knee as he held Dragor back. "LEO!?" Both Mikey and Donnie shouted happily in surprise.


	6. Chapter 6: New Encounter

**Chapter 6: New Encounter**

Dragor was in astonishment as his attack was actually currently being blocked, let alone held back. Leo had appeared out of nowhere and had both his swords drawn and crossed together where Dragor's claws were pressing against them as he was attempting to apply more force, a crack began to appear on one of Leo's swords as he was forced down onto one knee and slightly forced back as he was protecting his brothers.

Leo growled as the crack on his sword began to spread more, "Will….you… two, please… MOVE!?" Leo shouted as he was struggling hard enough to hold Dragor back, Dragor growled loudly as he was also struggling as he pushed harder attempting to snap Leo's sword. Mikey and Donnie instantly stopped clinging to one another and jolted away, blood began to seep through the bandage on Leo's arm more causing him to flinch in pain slightly as the injury was reopening from the force. Dragor noticed this and smirked as he released his one hand and aimed it at Leo's injured arm, Leo saw the attack coming beforehand as he growled lowly and removed his swords from Dragor's one claw and dodged his attempted attack on Leo's injured arm as he leaped back.

Dragor stood on two feet and growled angrily at Leo but also was amazed. 'It's been ages since someone has actually been able to subdue me, especially with such an injury as well." Dragor smirked in a freaky kind of happy way as he glared at Leo's injured arm regarding his topic. Leo only glanced at the crack in his sword and sighed silently as he also glanced at his injury, "April is gonna kill me..." He mumbled. Mikey instantly rushed to Leo's side, weapons drawn as Leo stood up with both his swords to his sides, Raph threw rubble off of himself from the crash landing into the wall that Dragor had done and also rushed to join his brothers as he growled, "You are so going to pay for that!" Raph shouted angrily.

"Donnie!?" A voice came from behind Donnie as he was standing away from his three brothers who were confronting Dragor, Donnie turned around as he instantly knew the voice. "April!? What the heck are you doing here, it's dangerous!" Donnie yelled as he noticed immediately that it was her as she climbed a ladder to get up to the turtles. "I got a call that you guys were in trouble, so I woke Leo up and we came rushing on over." She explained herself as she walked over to Donnie and moved her look at Dragor, "WOAH! Ok now that is cool, who is that?!" April asked in amazement. "Mikey calls him, Dragor. He's apparently some kind of dragon mutant from another world, he's the one who wants the blueprint for the teleporter so he can bring forth an army to overcome earth and take it over. He was using the Purple Dragons." Donnie exclaimed as he looked at her and back at Dragor, "I told you something felt off!" April shouted in Donnie's ear angrily, Donnie freaked out at the sudden shout and glanced at her in surprise.

"Wait you got a call!? By who?" Donnie asked as he became confused from what April said before. April pointed down from the broken window they were standing nearby, her point was directed at Jenna who was still in the room with the other man as she was knelt down assisting the man who had got injured from the crash through the window as rubble had fallen on him. Donnie only looked back at April in confusion, April raised her shoulders and hands "I don't know, she still had my number and called me, I guess there's still some good in her? Or something was bothering her? I'm just grateful she did, or you three would've been killed." April stated.

Dragor let out a large growl as he glanced at the three turtles who stood in front of him, "Four of you turtles?" he growled lowly as he glanced at April. "Must be the girl that they protect that the purple dragon girl stated." Dragor mumbled as he was talking to himself as he was reading the situation with the enemies around him.

"You guys seriously need to start listening to Splinter's guidelines." Leo said angrily at Raph and Mikey, "We're a team and we stick together as much as possible, and we're brothers. You guys should've waited for me." Leo stated somewhat sadly as they advanced the enemy ahead without his consent or Splinters. "It was Donnie's call, not ours." Raph exclaimed as if blaming Donnie, "You still followed." Leo growled at Raph who also growled back. Raph glanced at Leo's injured arm and noticed the blood seeping through the bandages and remembered what Mikey had said before, Raph only sighed "Fine, You're right, bro. I hate being seperated anyway from my brothers." Raph stated as he smirked at Leo. The sudden agreement from Raph had shocked Leo a bit as he would normally continue the argument.

"Guys…GUYS!" Mikey shouted as he stopped spinning one of his nunchucks and pointed. Both Raph and Leo looked at Mikey and where he was pointing, Dragor instantly seeped his hind claws into the ground and was directing his prepared pounce towards April and Donnie as he then darted at them as they were talking. "DONNIE!" Raph and Mikey shouted to alert him.

Donnie heard the yell and subdued his frighteness as he noticed Dragor charging at them, there wasn't much time to react but he acted quickly as he grabbed April and dodged the incoming charge. Dragor crashed into the wall that they were standing near as Donnie had April in his arms as they both glanced at where Dragor had crashed. Leo shouted at him and waved his hand directing him to come on as he wanted them to retreat as Dragor was too powerful and this was their chance. Donnie noticed this instantly and ran over as the group jumped off the roof and retreated leaving Dragor who fell through the wall and into the building.

Dragor instantly shook off the rubble as he crash landed and flew back up to the roof only to notice that the turtles and the girl were gone and had vanished. He knew they had retreated, left and hid somewhere, this angered him greatly as he let out an angered loud growl and directed his attention to the private room angrily. He dashed his way back into the room where Jenna and the man still were as they didn't dare leave the incident because of what Dragor could do. "Who was the blue one with the swords!?" Dragor commanded as he glared angrily at Jenna. Jenna looked at Dragor frighteningly "All I know about the blue one with swords is that we encountered him and the orange one at the apartment when trying to retrieve the statue, he protected the girl." Jenna stated as she glared at Dragor who growled lowly. "Apartment? Where is this apartment that this girl stays at?" Dragor smirked as he asked Jenna, "It's up north on broad street." Jenna stated worriedly. "So, he's protective. Such a sad weakness." Dragor laughed as he spread his wings and flew out the building heading North.

"AhAHh OUCH!" Leo yelped in pain and glanced at April worriedly. April purposely hurt him as she was restitching his injury that he reopened a bit from the fight back at the Purple Dragons base. Leo knew she was angry with him, and not just him but everyone else, she stopped and glanced up looking at all the turtles as they all were back in the lair in the sewers and in Donnie's lab. "I told you something was off, but nooo, you couldn't listen and things went badly, and you…!" She pointed at Leo next to her angrily, "Quit jumping into fights only to hurt yourself!" April said angrily at Leo who only looked at her innocently. She growled lowly at Leo and moved her look to Donnie "You knew as much as I did too but still proceeded, I know I agreed on it. But instincts normally don't lie." She stated as she also yelled at Donnie. All the turtles practically looked at her as if being scolded by their mother, all though Mikey wasn't really paying attention.

"Ok ok, calm down. We still got information and managed to survive in the end, were still here and breathing. So look on the bright side." Donnie said as he walked over to his computers and sat in his chair pulling up the blueprint on the monitors. "We know that this Dragor dragon mutant dude from another planet is attempting to build a powerful teleporter to teleport an army through in order to take over earth, he is using the Purple Dragons to find it, but we have it." Donnie stated. April sighed and placed her hand on Leo's injury as she stared at it with a sad look, "I know, it's just you three could've been killed if Jenna didn't call…" April said sadly.

"April is correct." A voice came from the lab entrance. "Splinter!" Raph yelped in shock, "You boys must overcome your problems and fears. This Dragor, seems very powerful and wants to do something remarkably bad that only we and these Purple Dragons know about. This Dragor also seems to remarkably be able to read situations pretty well, and is most likely already on about us slightly." Splinter stated as he directed his look at Leo's injury. They all knew what he was getting at as they remembered Dragor was focused on taking advantage of Leo's injury, which means he must've also read that Leo tends to be pretty protective, and that Donnie and Mikey tend to freeze and become frighten, and Raph's enthusiasm gets the best of him and still usually fails in the end. Though Splinter knew this might not change as it was also their strengths in their own ways, but must learn to build from it and also take advantage of it and read their enemies weaknesses as well.

Back at the Purple Dragon base, Jenna watched as Dragor had flown off, she looked down at her boss as he seemed to be ok now and also terrified of Dragor. "We must obey him, otherwise we're all dead. I just as much do not want an army of dragons as powerful as him here, but we have no choice." He stated as he looked at Jenna, "Sure we do." Jenna said as she pulled her phone out and dialed a number.

April's phone in her pocket began to ring as someone was calling her, she had just finished putting new bandages on Leo's arm and grabbed her phone from her pocket and answered. "April?" A voice came from the other end, it was Jenna. This surprised April, and she put her on speaker for the rest of the group to hear, including Splinter, "What do you want Jenna?" April questioned confusingly. "Look, the reason I helped is because I don't like this weird monster's plan...it isn't what I… we wanted. We don't really have a choice but to obey him at the moment, and I see your turtle friends as the only option we have in order to beat him… especially the one in blue as he seemed to fear and be angered about him the most…?" Jenna stated as she was sounding worried, everyone looked at Leo who was confused and shocked with all the eyes directed at him. "What!? Just because I managed to hold him back from you two doesn't mean I can beat him… he still cracked my sword and pushed me back!" Leo exclaimed as all eyes still were on him. "Yeah.. but you weren't around to see Dragor's strength, I mean, he sent Raph flying into a wall with just his fire breath. And his speed is insane too, and you managed to directly get in front of us just in time and actually block and hold him back." Donnie said to Leo, "And she just said, he seemed frightened by you specifically." April added.

Leo only innocently looked at everyone as he became more confused and not to get any stupid bright ideas and it scared him a bit. "Look all I am getting at here is that I can be the inside information for you guys, I know you guys have the blueprint." Jenna said as they all directed their looks back at the phone in shock. "How did you…?" Donnie began as he became confused, "I mean, why else would you follow. I mean, I know for April's sake to find out why I barged into her apartment looking for something, but I figured it was something more. That reminds me, he's headed for your apartment, April, I hope you aren't there." Jenna said, "I'm not there, no one is there at the moment. But why my apartment?" April asked. "I had no choice but to tell him it was your apartment where the statue was for the blueprint, and I also told him that's where the blue and orange turtles protected you. I guess he wants to take advantage of that? I don't know." Jenna stated with a sigh. "Thanks, Jenna." April said as she hung up.

April turned her look to Leo, "Apparently he wants to use me to get to you? But he can use the others too, or even innocent people…" April said as she confused herself. Donnie sighed as he placed a hand under his chin and started to think, "Apparently Leo is the key to defeating him? But so long as he doesn't have the chip or blueprint in his possession, we're all good unless he comes across our lair and finds it. "Yeah, I'm just gonna jab him with my swords a few times and it's a victory." Leo sarcastically stated as he was completely unamused. "April, you'll have to stay here with us, it is dangerous to go back to your apartment." Splinter stated as he looked at her. "Heh… I might as well live here at the rate this is all going at." She remarked with a sigh.

Donnie couldn't help but to struggle as he thought hard. Mikey noticed this, "What's wrong D.?" Mikey asked confusingly. "Somethings been bothering me… if Dragor is from another planet, then how did he get here? And if the chip is centuries old, then how did the chip get here? And if he is here for the chip and planning to build a teleporter that requires materials earth does not have, then that must mean the materials are also here on earth, hidden." Donnie exclaimed as he turned his look to the group. "He also stated earlier that it's been ages since someone has subdued him, which makes me conclude that he is probably the only one of his kind and most likely the strongest? Which means there's only certain other special people who can subdue him..?" Donnie was beginning to confuse himself. "Which is Leo apparently…? But there are billions of living people and most likely mutants too who could probably subdue him… Leo only managed to block his strength directly with his swords, not bare hands. That doesn't mean it would be the same for the breath attack that Raph took. But it still doesn't change the fact Dragor was amazed and slightly frightened with mostly Leo…" April stated as she glanced at Leo and then back at Donnie trying to figure the puzzle out.

"Oh...no.." April said worriedly. Everyone looked at her in confusion. "If Dragor is going to my apartment… and he actually goes inside and searches… I left the broken half of the real statue in the bedroom, and if he finds that, he'll know we have the chip and blueprint." April said worriedly. Donnie only sighed, "Nothing we can do about it now, he's probably already there and noticing we aren't there either. All we can do is sit and wait." Donnie stated. April sighed, "Well I know I gotta stay here, but I gotta just quickly check up with Adam and give him the news, I texted him earlier that I would meet him outside his place in the alley to talk in a few minutes." "Hmm, take my sons with you. I rather you not go alone." Splinter said as he looked at her reassuring her that he wasn't going to keep her locked up down here because of the situation. "I'm gonna stay here and see if I can find more information on the statue and possible sighting on a mutant dragon, seems like Dragor might've been around for a while." Donnie said with a wave as he turned to face his computer screens.

Splinter had already walked out and left, returning to the dojo, April and the other three turtles let Donnie do his thing and left the lab and lair as they exited the manhole on the alley they needed to be on to meet Adam at. A few minutes passed as April and the three turtles stood in the Alley waiting, Adam walked out of his place and came around the corner as his place was right next to the alleyway and he waved at the group as he approached them. They were all pretty much in a circle that Adam had joined, "So, what happened?" Adam asked. April explained most of the situation and incident that happened at the Purple Dragon building and with the turtles, also remarking how Dragor seemed to be in fear of Leo.

Adam looked at Leo confusingly, "So you're practically the key to beating this Dragor?" he asked. Leo only raised an eye, "So it seems… but I think it isn't just me as there are still many unknowns regarding it." Leo stated. "We want you to stay away from the Purple Dragons for a while, Adam. Please, because of this Dragor guy, he is most likely to kill innocent people to get to Leo or to get what he wants. And if he finds out that you're with us, things will be really bad." April said seriously.

Adam sighed but agreed, he believed April and the turtles about a dragon mutant on the loose planning disaster on the world and hurting those who got in his way and those who are close and in relationship with that person which was April and the turtles, and Adam if he were to find out. Leo could suddenly feel a presence behind him as everyone was distracted with looking and talking to one another, before he could react he felt one of swords quickly being pulled out from his sheath, Leo instantly turned around in sudden surprise as well as the others did, they all noticed a young boy who had Leo's sword in his hands pointed upward and staring at the blade in amazement. "Casey!" Adam shouted in surprise.

Casey looked at the blade from top to bottom and noticed the cracks in the blade, he glanced at Leo. "Dude, the heck did you fight! This is so cool!" Casey shouted in amazement as he swung the sword around, Leo only sighed in slight relief, worried it was something possibly more dangerous like Dragor suddenly appearing. He walked up to Casey and forced the sword out of his hand, taking it back. "It's not a toy." Leo stated as he glared at Casey, sheathing the sword back.

"Casey, what the hell are you doing out here!? And what?! Not, oh my god giant talking turtles? You're just amazed and surprised with a sword?!" April yelled at him. Adam only looked down with a facepalm and sighed, "Well duh, when you play so many games with monsters on them, it doesn't really surprise you much even if you see them in reality. But weapons, ohhh yeahh! Dude is that a real nunchuck!?" Casey shouted as he ran to Mikey, crouching and poking the weapon excitedly.

"Casey, weren't you busy playing games? I also told you to stay inside." Adam said to him unamused of the situation. Casey shrugged, "I got bored, so I came to see what was taking you so long. Wasn't expecting my own dad to be friends with mutants, this is so cool!" He said, continuing to poke at Mikey's nunchucks.

"You know him?" Raph asked as he looked at April. April shrugged, "Yeah… Adam has been friends with my parents since I was born… Casey here is his son and we've played games together a lot when younger, last time I saw him was a year ago." Mikey pulled the Nunchuck out from the sheath of his belt that Casey was poking at and let him play with it and also showing him some basic nunchuck moves.

"Dude, you guys are muscular too." Casey said as he poked at Raph's shoulder who was close to Mikey. Raph waved his poking finger away, "Knock it off!" Raph growled at Casey and crossed his arms directing his attention back to April and Adam. Casey only giggled and poked Raph's shoulder again, Raph twitched an eye and growled, which made Casey poke again, "That is it you brat!" Raph shouted as he was about to pounce on Casey but was stopped. "Enough!" Leo shouted at Raph with a growl, Raph peered under his upward arm at Leo angrily and growled lowly but listened as he stopped and glared at Casey who chuckled.

Adam sighed, "Thanks for the heads up." April smiled at him and nodded reassuring him as they both looked at Casey, "I'll be staying with the turtles, so no worries regarding where I'll stay. Mind telling my parents an excuse and that my phone is off?" April asked innocently for the favor of Adam, Adam only smiled and chuckled a bit, "Of course I can. I got that covered for you." Adam said reassuring her.

"Thank you so much!" April said happily. "Woah, you're staying with these dude's, can I come?! Please, please, please, please!?" Casey sobbed as he approached April, pleading at her. April only raised her hands up half way innocently, "That's not my call to make…" She said as she glanced at Leo. Leo went wide eyed as he noticed this and looked at everyone who was also looking at him, 'What's with everyone looking at me lately…' he thought as he sighed. "No, no way. Not with what's happening, too dangerous." Leo stated as he was standing crossed armed glaring at Casey.

Casey schooched his way towards Leo with pleading eyes. Leo only looked at Casey seriously, still remarking that it was a no go, but was shocked when Mikey also schooched over pleading with Casey as he took a liking to Casey. Raph noticed this and only raised his hands and looked away wanting no part of it, Leo looked at Adam with a confused expression.

Adam sighed, "I mean… If it'll get him out of the house. The kid can defend himself just fine because of Hockey… trust me on that part. He also knows self defense that I taught him from police training. He isn't big on spilling the beans either, so no worries." He stated as he reassured Leo who was trying to not put more in danger, but it didn't seem like it was working with Casey here who kept insisting to come along and know more. Casey reminded Leo of April when he first met her down in the sewers, persistent. Leo glared at April not amused at all, "This was you when I first met you." Leo stated as he pointed at Mikey and Casey below him who were on their knees all sparkly eyed. April only gave Leo an angry look, "Well excuse me for liking to meet new people, even it's giant talking turtles. And I am glad I was persistent! Now I know it seems to work and convince you!" She growled.

"Pleeeeeasssseee!?" Both Casey and Mikey asked as they looked up at Leo. "Oh for the love of- Fine!" Leo growled giving up as he started to angrily mumble walking back to the manhole they came out from. April turned to look at Adam before she followed, "I'll keep you notified on Casey and the Purple Dragons. Don't worry." She said to him reassuring him as she waved him off following Leo, Casey followed April, Mikey and Raph followed along, Adam waved them off as they all went down the manhole. "Sewers huh, Gross." Adam said with a sigh as he turned and walked off back to his apartment.

Just as Donnie said beforehand, Dragor did reach April's apartment quickly, he didn't bother to go inside it as he hovered over it and peered through the windows and glass doors as the placed was pretty much trashed, he noticed no one was there and it upset him greatly as he let out a growl, he noticed people below him who were walking in large groups look up and notice him and pointed at him shouting "Look, what is that!?" Dragor only growled and instantly turned around and started flying back to the Purple Dragon base, "No matter… I have other ways to get the blueprint besides the chip. Those turtles better not get in the way!" Dragor growled letting out a roar as he flew back to the base.


	7. Chapter 7: Trouble

**Chapter 7: Trouble**

Casey was practically babbling the whole way to the lair as Leo was leading the way, he was so not happy or amused as he wouldn't say a word or turn to look at any one.

Mikey was pretty much non-stop talking with Casey as they both would talk about favorite games and interests, Mikey also explained a lot about himself and the names of his brothers as they moved along the tunnels, they even played rock paper scissors a few times.

The non-stop jabbering would piss off Raph as he would attempt to shut them up a few times, but didn't succeed. Leo and April were pretty much ignoring them the whole time, April glanced at Leo and sighed, she could tell like he felt he had alot of a burden to bare not just being Leader but the fact this new enemy seems to fear him only and not the others. It still bothered her but Leo was right as the fact still is that there is still unknowns regarding the topic about Dragor being subdued, if anything, Raph could hold Dragor back with his sai's if he was in that same situation, and if anything he was just forced into his shell in order to survive and block the breath attack, so of course he would be sent flying or unscathed.

There is still so much of this puzzle that is unknown about this Blueprint teleporter and this Dragor, this frustrated April as she let out a frustrated sigh that everyone pretty much ignored.

"Raph, arm wrestle me man!" Casey shouted to him as they all arrived at the lair finally, Donnie was still in his lab on the computers, Leo walked and jumped over and sat on the couch where April joined him, Mikey was dancing his way down the stairs. "No." Raph growled as he walked down the stairs where Casey followed behind.

"Aww, too chicken!?" Casey said as he started doing the chicken dance and chicken sounds walking past Raph mocking him. Raph twitched an eye and glared at Casey letting out a large growl, "FINE!" he shouted angrily as they both approached a table and arm wrestled a few times, Raph practically won every match but surprisingly enough Casey actually was somewhat holding his own sometimes.

Raph would laugh at Casey as Casey would start cussing and jabbering at Raph how he would be cheating somehow, Raph loved it when someone got angry at him or someone else as he would practically enjoy it. "You two are so immature…" April stated from the couch she was sitting on, Leo only glared at the two who were arguing, not amused at all.

Casey and Raph looked at April, "Hmm, who's the oldest of you turtles?" Casey asked as he turned to Raph raising an eyebrow. Raph only chuckled a bit, "You're seriously comparing age to maturity?" Raph laughed. Mikey danced his way over next to Casey and Raph, "That would be Leo over there, he ain't just the oldest but also our fearless leader!" Mikey stated as he pointed at Leo who only continued to glare at them not caring at all.

April giggled, "Even if Leo wasn't the eldest brother, he's still more mature than any of you, by quite a lot." she chuckled as she wasn't wrong by what's she's noticed with the turtles. "WHAT!?" Both Raph and Casey stood angrily from their chairs and looked at April, giving her a devastating and very angry stare. This spooked her as she couldn't help but cling and hug Leo next to her frighteningly, Leo didn't hesitate from the action at all as he didn't care. "Great… now we got two Raph's…" Leo stated.

"Tell me about it… he's also a lot like Mikey.." April sobbed on Leo. Leo and April both looked down as April's phone began to ring, April let go of Leo and reached for her phone in her pocket noticing it was Jenna and answered. "Jenna? What's up?" April asked confused from the sudden so soon call. April didn't put her on speaker and left Leo confused who only looked at April as she talked to Jenna, April had a very worried and sad look on her face as she did and it confused Leo even more. Raph and Casey continued to shout at one another and argue and Mikey just was dancing around them.

April hung the phone up as she looked down worriedly putting her phone away, she turned and looked at Leo in the eyes as she was serious. "We got trouble…" she said still with a very worried look, Leo only raised an eye still confused. "Dragor has another way of getting the blueprint for the teleporter, and Jenna doesn't know how or what it is in order to get the second as he did not mention due to him saying he was going to get it himself." April said to him, "But the good news is, he doesn't know we have the one from the statue." April added.

Leo only looked at April seriously, "Two blueprints? I thought this thing was from another world, and was very rare and dangerous, why would there be two hidden?" Leo questioned, "Plus, isn't there materials listed. Won't he need the materials that a blueprint doesn't even tell where to find them." Leo added. April shrugged as he was making correct statements, this frustrated her as more was added to the puzzle and she let out a frustrated roar and placed her hands on her cheeks sobbing. "Damn, I wish we knew more!" April growled.

Donnie came running out from the lab and stood at the entrance with a finger raised, which usually meant a problem or a bright idea. "Guys! We have a problem!" Donnie shouted, "Two blueprints?" Both Leo and April said as they glared at him, Donnie dropped his finger innocently as he looked at the two on the couch. "Y-yeah… but that's not all.." Donnie was beginning to say but stopped as he noticed Casey arguing with Raph.

Donnie only let in some air and wasn't even going to question the situation and the new person in the lair as he only turned around, "Just come see." He said as he walked back into his lab. Both Leo and April looked at each other in confusion, Leo shrugged and stood up walking into the lab where April followed along.

Donnie noticed Leo and April walk in, he figured the others were still arguing and Mikey was still dancing. He pointed at the computer screens which had the blueprint on them, Leo and April only looked at him confusingly. "It's the blueprint to the teleporter, like I said it also lists the materials needed in order to build and function it. Which are materials not even from our world, aka earth. And must be from Dragor's world, I came to a conclusion after researching the past hour and half you guys were gone and out in the living area. What if he already has the materials? And not the blueprint that would guide him on how to build it." Donnie began. "But if he already had the materials and the materials are from his world, why would he need the blueprint? Wouldn't he already know how to build it?" Leo questioned.

Donnie leaned back in his chair, "That's the thing, I asked myself the same thing. So I narrowed it down, thinking of it like our world with the billions of people living on it. What if his world was the same? Like how only certain people are intelligent." Donnie continued, "Like scientists?" April added. "Exactly, what if only scientists knew about how to build the teleporter on his planet and he found out about it. What if the scientists managed to somehow send it here and hide it away and Dragor followed to get his hands on it?" Donnie continued. "But couldn't he just slaughter or convince the scientists like he is with the Purple Dragons, force them to build it?" Leo questioned as he looked at Donnie raising an eye.

Donnie shrugged, "Well yeah, but It isn't that simple. Like here, citizens and innocents are protected by police forces and other people. But that still doesn't mean he wouldn't take the advantage of doing so, that's why I remarked it as what if his world WAS the same as ours. Like he said, he wants to bring an army through, which means the army must be under his command and already waiting and prepared, he also mentioned it's been ages since someone has subdued him, so who knows how old this guy is, just like in mythology, Dragons are considered to live for centuries on end." Leo put a hand to his chin, thinking for a second "So your saying he most likely just arrived here on earth?" Leo asked as he looked back at Donnie, Donnie nodded. "My best bet is he's been here for about a week or two." Donnie added.

"The statue is centuries old though, so he must've just found out about it?" April questioned, Donnie nodded to that as well. "The teleporter isn't from his world!" Leo said as he came to realization. "Exactly." Donnie said, "He must travel from planet to planet through the galaxy on his own. He's probably looking for a planet of his own to conquer, and has found out about the teleporter being hidden away here and decided to conquer earth." Donnie added as he turned and looked at the two.

"But who built it in the first place? And how did he find out about it? And how did it get here?" April questioned. "Only one person we know of who would know, is Dragor himself." Leo said. "Yeahh…" Donnie sighed as he glanced at the blueprint. Leo looked at Donnie and raised an eye instantly knowing something was off, "You know something don't you." Leo asked as he glared at Donnie. "Yeahhh… actually about that… I might've researched someone who might know the answers. But the problem is… she isn't in New York." Donnie said as he glanced at Leo who sighed sadly.

Donnie smirked, both Leo and April noticed this and looked at him confusingly. Donnie pointed behind him at a large object that was covered with a huge blanket and stood up walking over to it, Donnie removed the cover and both April and Leo went wide eyed in shock. What was in front of them was a large heavily armored and weaponized vehicle that Donnie had been working on for the past three days.

"And she works just fine!" Donnie said bragging, tossing a T-phone to Leo. "Forgot to give you one earlier, also made custom phones. They're highly advanced and secure with my own coding, untraceable except from me. Already put April's number on them too." Donnie said with a smile. Leo flipped the phone in the air and thanked Donnie as he was amazed before putting it away in his belt, "So, who is this person who knows the answers?" Leo asked moving his look to Donnie. "Her name is Kana, she's a greek researcher. She doesn't like to make herself well known, so she does research secretly. I managed to come across her through coding and hacking. She knows just about everything regarding greek mythology, statues, stuff from a possibly nother world, ya name it. So she is most likely our only best bet at getting answers." Donnie said as he patted the vehicle he was standing next to. "Normally it's a two days drive, but with this baby, only one." Donnie bragged, but he wasn't wrong.

Leo smirked slightly, "We leave in an hour." April smiled happily, she was tired of being in the sewers and in New York, she wanted a small vacation, especially with the turtles. "What ya gonna call her?" April asked Donnie as she pointed at the vehicle with a smile. Donnie shrugged, "I was going to-" Donnie began but was stopped at a sudden bolt that went past him and the other two, they all three looked at what it was, more like who it was. "Mikey!?" Donnie yelped at the sudden entrance he had made, Mikey was hugging the vehicle in such astonishment. "Were calling her the Shellcharger!" Mikey shouted excitedly. "Shellcharger?" Donnie questioned, "Shell-Charger. Because it's armored like a Shell, and has a ram in the front and can charge through stuff." Mikey stated as he pointed at the ram in the front of the vehicle.

Leo shrugged as Donnie looked at him, "Shellcharger it is then…" Donnie said as he really didn't mind the name. "We're going on a vacation with that? Wouldn't a heavily armored and weaponized vehicle get cops on us?" A voice came from the entrance of the lab, it was Raph who was leaning against the door. "DUDE! That is so sick!" Casey shouted as he entered as well and rushed over touching the vehicle with Mikey in astonishment. Donnie sighed, "I made her look military like, meaning cops would most likely see it as a military vehicle and ignore it as military is normally above the law." Raph only raised an eye and shrugged as he walked over to the group, "We won't need to really pack anything, we're just heading out to talk to Kana and then back." Donnie stated. "It's still a day's drive there and back, so two days. Still worth packing a few snacks." April said with a small shrug. "Are we bringing him along?" Donnie asked as he pointed to Casey.

Casey was crossed armed as he was listening to the conversation and looked at Donnie as he asked, "Of course I am coming! I wanna help out!" he stated as he glared at Donnie being serious. "Guess so, we're running out of time though, so you all got an hour to get what you need for the two days were out. Dragor can find that second blueprint at any time." Leo said as he turned and walked out with a wave, Raph followed behind him.

Casey looked at Donnie, "Who's driving?" he asked with a smile. Donnie looked at Casey and raised an eye, "Me obviously. I'll drive us there, but I'll have Leo drive us back. Why? Were you hoping to drive?" Donnie questioned as he glared at Casey. "Well duh! I know how to drive, just don't like too normally cause I prefer in doors. I have to usually drive myself to the ice rinks for Hockey." Casey stated as he looked at the Shellcharger. "Hmph, who knows, maybe me or Leo will let you drive sometime." Donnie said as he smiled at Casey who happily looked at him back.

"What about you red, you know how to drive?" Casey asked as he turned to April who was standing listening to the two of them chat and Mikey who was sitting on the shellcharger also listening. April shrugged a bit, "I knew how to drive since I was ten, I just don't like too either, especially here. I prefer the bus, taxi or train rather than driving myself around in this city's traffic." She stated. "I agree with you there." Casey chuckled in agreement.

Leo had gone to let Splinter know about what has happened and what was planned next, and about Casey. Splinter wasn't happy about Casey due to the amount of times the turtles have exposed themselves in the span of just about three days, but he let it slide as the people they have met so far have been trustworthy and helpful. April had left the lair shortly after to run to her apartment to grab her bags quickly as Raph and Mikey had gone with her, Donnie and Casey were getting along in his Lab as he worked more a little on the Shellcharger preparing it for the drive and double checking on it.

April returned with Raph and Mikey who carried her bags and placed them next to the couch, Mikey went to the kitchen to get some snacks and Raph went to his room. April noticed Leo who was sitting on the floor in front of the TV and watching a random cartoon as he was waiting for the rest to finish up, he seemed intrigued with the current show as he seemed somewhat focused on it. She looked over to the lab as she heard Casey laugh loudly from inside it, she let out a small happy sigh of relief, she was glad to see everyone pumped up and excited for a small trip.

April walked over to Leo and crouched next to him and placed her hand on his injured arm as she still felt sad and regret every time she saw it, she noticed he wrapped his black bandages over the injury so no one would take advantage of it and see it if he ever got into a fight and she knew this as he really didn't bother putting them on earlier with how many hours had passed. Leo jumped slightly at the sudden touch as he really didn't notice April from being focused into the cartoon, he instantly looked at her as she had spooked him a bit. "Still hurts?" April asked sadly, Leo knew she became very sad and full of regret each time she saw his arm knowing the injury was there and still fresh, and also remembering what she said before when she asked the somewhat same question. Leo relaxed and moved his look back to the TV, "Yeah." he said not even lying. He hated lying to his brothers and the people he trusted and cared about, but when it came to enemies and unknown people he was the best at coming up with lies along with Donnie.

"Well, you're pretty good at hiding the pain." She stated as she slumped down onto her knees and sitting, "But not from me." She bragged, smirking at him. Leo only gave an unamused look as he still was staring at the TV, "I Know." Leo stated as he turned his head and looked at her, April only returned the reply with a confused look. "Donnie told me, you're able to read someone's emotions just by their expression, even if it's just slightly." Leo said as he raised an eye, "Am I wrong?" April smiled as she laid back onto her back relaxing, "No, not at all. I guess Donnie could tell, he is intelligent after all." She said looking at the ceiling. "I get you guys are Ninja's and all, but why endure and take the pain. Can't it get overwhelming?" April asked him as she looked at him.

Leo peered over his shoulder and looked at April with a somewhat confused look, "Well, yeah. Like the two times you purposely hurt me and I randomly yelped." Leo said, giving another unamused look at her. April also gave him the same look, "Maybe don't piss me off then by purposely hurting yourself, I know you want to protect me and the others, but you shouldn't always take the hits and get injured, I care about you Leo and I hate to see you get hurt. This goes for the others as well." Leo gave her a grateful smile, but even though she wasn't wrong he still wouldn't stop his sacrificing as it was practically a habit and he was trying his best to overcome it, but he also chose not to normally as he knew she couldn't entirely protect herself . "You still almost balled your eyes out like a baby just by seeing my blood." Leo smirked, mocking her.

April shot up from her relaxing and glared at Leo, "How many times do I have to say it!?" she growled and smirked as she moved into a crouch, Leo only gave her a confused look as she playfully tackled him which shocked him in sudden surprise and wasn't expecting it. April had Leo in a choke hold but wasn't actually choking him as it was playful, Leo just went along with it but became confused as she stopped, "How about you teach me?" April asked. Leo turned and looked at April in confusion, "Your ninjutsu, so I can defend myself better. And so you guys would stop having to keep saving me…" April remarked as she looked down somewhat ashamed.

Leo only looked at April with a slight shocked but also worried look, he let out a small sigh, "Look, even if you learned our art and could defend yourself it still wouldn't stop us from saving and helping one another, even if it meant sacrificing for that person." Leo stated as he looked at her seriously. "Donnie said you were very sacrificial when it came to protecting the people you care about, especially family… If there's at least a chance to prevent that then I'll take it, I'm sure there's some instinct in there that knows if I can defend myself you won't always have to step in." She exclaimed as she pointed at Leo's chest regarding instincts. Leo only stared at April worriedly, but she wasn't wrong, Leo knew his brothers could defend themselves pretty well and he normally doesn't have the habit to jump in and save them except for that time with Dragor, he wouldn't dare hesitate when it came to protecting his brothers or the people he cares about knowing he would rather take the burden of getting injured than that person not caring at all what that person would think or feel, but he was beginning to understand that it was hurting April seeing him hurt himself for her sake. He could also remark that she was sensitive for the people she cares about and not for herself especially when she got hurt as he remembered back in the sewer tunnel regarding her ankle that has now not been bothering her at all since the incident at her apartment.

Leo sighed, "It'll be the hardest thing you will ever do, it won't just hurt you physically but also mentally and spiritually. I'm not a good teacher, but I'm sure I can convince Splinter to teach you and I'll help. Still up for it?" April looked up at Leo who was looking at her seriously, she formed a large smile on her face "Absolutely!" She sobbed happily. Leo pointed at her, "Until my so called instincts know for sure you can defend and protect yourself, I can't promise my sacrificial habits won't take place. Like your curiosity and crying, it just happens without thinking."

April's smile faded but he wasn't wrong and she understood this easily, she let out a sad sigh but agreed with him as she nodded. Leo stood up with a stretch as Raph came walking out of his room and Mikey out of the Kitchen who was giggling loudly with his hands full of snacks. "Mikey you don't need that many snacks…" Leo stated with his arms crossed giving Mikey an unamused look. "Sure we do!" Mikey chuckled and giggled his way to Donnie's lab with the snacks, Leo only sighed as he looked down at April who was on her knees still on the ground. Leo offered his hand to her to help her up, April noticed this and gave him a grateful smile as she accepted and stood.

Raph made his way to Donnie's lab behind Mikey without saying anything, Leo and April followed behind. "It's go time! Everyone ready?" Donnie asked excitedly as he looked at everyone who returned after almost an hour. "Yo Casey, help me stash these!" Mikey chuckled as he entered the Shellcharger where Casey looked interested and followed in. Raph followed the two into the vehicle, and Leo walked up to Donnie placing his hand on his shoulder nodding as they both followed along behind where April also did as they all entered the vehicle. Donnie sat at the wheel and started the engine of the Shellcharger, he flipped a switch above him and the garage in his lab opened, Donnie pressed the gas and moved the stick as he drove the vehicle out and onto the tracks as they were driving decently fast straight for a wall, everyone started to freak out and shout at him warning him but he didn't listen as he only smirked and flipped another twitch above, the wall they were driving at opened up and led them right through a large alley and onto the streets. "Let's get this show on the road!" Mikey shouted happily.


	8. Chapter 8: The Researcher

**Chapter 8: The Researcher**

Two hours have passed since the group left the lair and exited New York City, Raph and Mikey had fallen asleep, Leo couldn't sleep due to his injury still hurting and bothering him somewhat, so he just relaxed with his legs up on the dash board in the passenger seat next to Donnie who was driving everyone to the destination.

April knew Leo was ignoring the pain, she hated seeing that with people as it seemed unnecessary. She only sighed as she looked around her surroundings, she liked the inside of the Shellcharger, it was very nice, roomy, clean and organized. She particularly loved the little christmas lights all around in the vehicle as she would sit back and stare at them, Donnie was pretty much playing music on the radio as well and she liked it.

Casey stood up from a chair he was sitting in across from April where he and Mikey were covered in snacks after making a large mess already, he let out a stretch and yawned. "Yo D. What's this hatch on the floor?" Casey asked as he was looking down at it and standing near it, April also looked at it as she didn't really notice it until he said something which gained her curiosity.

Donnie peered over his shoulder to see what he was talking about and realizing when he noticed it, "Oh that." He said as he turned his eyes back on the road but also flipping a switch up above him, the hatch on the floor began to open which spooked Casey as he jumped back. "It's something I also whipped up for Leo and Raph. Introducing the Stealth Bike." Donnie added, this gained Leo's interest as he peered behind to see the bike.

A decently large black three wheeled bike raised up from the hatch, April, Casey and Leo stared at it. "It's fast and can drive 120 Miles per hour, armor plating on back that can rise upward and cover the top of the bike putting it into stealth mode, bulletproof tires, the engine even goes quiet when in stealth mode but results in slowing the bike down as well. Even comes with oil slick to get tailers off." Donnie stated as he put the bike back down and closed the hatch.

"That is so sick!" Casey shouted, "And you built that bike and this armored vehicle?!" He asked with an overly excited look on his face as he ran over and stood behind Donnie. Donnie gazed at him, "Well yeah… we gotta get around somehow. I found this vehicle in a large sewer tunnel that led to the outside just sitting there, so I took it and built it into this. The bike is custom made." He stated.

Casey went sparkly eyed, Leo was just lying back in the passenger seat and April who sat on a side couch on the side back of the vehicle as they both were just silent and listening. "What about the Shellcharger?" Casey asked, wanting to know more about the vehicle they were in itself. Donnie raised an eye but Casey's interest pleased him as no one really liked his explanations and lectures on science and how stuff worked, "The Shellcharger can drive up to 100 miles per hour, it is heavily armored like a tank and is weaponized, so this baby can take a lot before getting destroyed, but like any other armored vehicle, its greatest weakness is being flipped over." Donnie shrugged as he really didn't have anything to help with that if it ever happened. "Tires are bulletproof, has land mines, missiles, oil slick, tacks, you name it and this puppy has it." Donnie stated with a smirk and gazed at the hundreds of switches and buttons around him and the passenger side.

The Shellcharger was rigged with multiple weapons, it could take up to twenty five missile hits before the armor were to be destroyed completely. The vehicle only had one window which the front driver view so driver could see the road, everywhere else was covered and heavily armored to the bone, there was also multiple screens in between the driver and passenger as camera's were placed all over the vehicle and the monitors displayed them, as well as heat vision camera and thermal readers. Casey's favorite was the ram in the front of the vehicle, he could tell it could charge through almost anything.

Morning had approached them after a few more hours had passed, Leo managed to fall asleep and the rest were still asleep as well, April, Casey and Donnie were the only ones still awake and it was pretty much silence the whole time with just the music they were hearing. April was getting tired as she was up all night long due to her long nap at the apartment, she laid back on the small couch and couldn't stop thinking about her sister, Dragor and the statue regarding the blueprint for another world teleporter. There was still so much to this Dragor mutant that was unknown, so many pieces to the puzzle having yet to be answered or found out about, but that's why they were on this little trip anyway, to hopefully get those questions answered, everyone knew they had to work together to put a stop to this Dragor to save New York, but not just New York, the whole world.

April never really wanted a normal life, she was and still is very grateful to have met and come along with the turtles, but she didn't expect a life or death situation and the fact of stopping an enemy who wants to take over the world. April sobbed silently as she turned herself over but perked her listening to Casey, Casey was sitting upside down next to mikey eating some chips, "D. Why does Leo keep the cracked sword? Isn't a sword no worth keeping once cracked? Or any blade at that?" Casey asked as he munched a chip loudly.

April peered over her shoulder looking at Casey who asked the question as it seemed to bother him, she moved her look to where Leo was who was practically passed out like the other two and noticed he did still have his two swords in their sheaths, but she didn't know one of his blades got cracked and she became confused wanting to know answer now too.

Donnie glanced at Leo as he remembered, Leo had shown up fast when he, Raph and Mikey were in trouble as Dragor caught the three of them spying on the Purple Dragons. Leo had saved his and Mikey's life due to the two of them not overcoming the fact of fear of Dragor, "He tends to keep any blade even when cracked until it actually breaks and/or shatters. He says a blade is still useful and can be strong even if it is cracked, and he honestly isn't wrong all though the blade will break easier if applied with enough force causing the cracks to spread and actually fully break it. So, he doesn't replace a cracked blade until it actually breaks, same goes with Raph's Sai's." Donnie stated.

"But what bothers me… is the fact his blade cracked and didn't actually shatter or break instantly after impact with Dragor…" Donnie began questioning himself, April sat up and looked over to Donnie who's eyes were on the road as he talked. "What do you mean?" April asked as she glanced over at Casey who munched another chip loudly, "I mean the fact of Dragor's strength seemed overwhelmingly too strong, he rammed through a wall no problem but couldn't break a sword? Even being hit by him could shatter or break your bones, even us if we were hit on the shell." Donnie stated.

April raised an eyebrow "Don't you guys have the same bone structure of a turtle?" she asked. Donnie shrugged, "Not entirely, ever since we got mutated our bone structure became more human-like, just like any animal or human, you need a spine and ribs in order to stand on two feet. Sure, a turtle's ribs are normally fused with a turtles shell, but not in our case, our ribs don't go all around though like humans." "That is so cool! So you guys are like turtle humans!? Wicked!" Casey said who munched a chip. "That's pretty much what a mutant is you doofus…" April stated as she glared at him. "Can't your shells still protect you though?" Casey asked.

"Sure they can, our plastron and shell are bulletproof to an extent, like Raph he broke part of his shell in an accident when he was younger, but that's because when we were younger, our shells weren't as strong, just like anyone, you develop strength over time as you get older. But I'm implying the actual impact of the force Dragor applies, just like a human, your skin protects you." Donnie began, "Like a kid falling off a monkey bar and breaking their bone from the impact but skin isn't affected." April stated coming to realization. "Exactly." Donnie said, "So that's why I am confused on how Leo's swords did not snap from the impact, any weapon could've easily snapped from the strength he possesses." Donnie shrugged.

April placed her hand on her chin and shrugged as well. "Great… more questions needing answers… This Dragor is complicated.." April sobbed. Donnie agreed with her, it was complicated and he was the intelligent one and was also struggling as when he does come up with an answer for one question, another question just comes along right after. Donnie tossed Casey something, Casey pretty much reacted fast to it since he was staring at Donnie and caught whatever it was, he held it up and noticed it was a custom made phone, "T-Phone, so you can stay in contact with us when we get to Kana." Donnie stated. "Wicked! Finally got my own phone, does it have games?" He asked as he messed with it, "Sure it does, it's like any phone, just way more secure." Donnie said, giving Casey a smile.

"We'll be arriving where Kana is close to dark, April, you and Casey will have to try and talk to her." Donnie stated, April only shot a look at Donnie, "Wait what!? I thought you guys were actually going to confront her!?" April questioned, "That would be plan B, I knew you were going to come along to begin with, so I wanted you to try confronting and talking to her, and if she refuses then we would pop into the picture. But we've exposed ourselves enough, we can't keep showing ourselves to everyone we encounter." Donnie said, glancing at April who shrugged. "Fine, you said she likes to keep herself secret though…" April began, "Yep, she has no source on social media except through a top secret document in the greek mythology science research labs, that's where I found her. She does research secretly for the government, think of her like an undercover detective, we'll have to meet her when she's home, she's hard to find when she's actually out and about. Plus you can read people based on expression, so you can tell if she's lying or not." Donnie said.

April sighed somewhat annoyed with this idea, but he wasn't wrong and agreed to it, by how Donnie explained her based on what he knows, she seemed like someone who avoids humans or any kind of social contact, so trying to get answers from her weren't going to be easy at all. She glanced at Casey who was still laying upside down and was playing games on the T-Phone and chuckling, she sobbed a bit and lied back down on the couch letting herself fall asleep.

Casey glanced at Donnie whose eyes were on the road, "So D. Wanna tell me what's going on so I ain't left in the blue?" He questioned. Donnie peered over his shoulder and looked at Casey confusingly for a second, "The other's didn't tell you?" Donnie asked. Casey shrugged as he looked back at the phone and continued his game, "Not what with going on and about this little trip, Mikey told me about you and your brothers and that was it." he stated.

Donnie sighed as he thought Casey already knew the situation, but apparently not. "Where should I start…" Donnie began raising an eye trying to think, he explained the situation to Casey so far and why they were going to meet Kana regarding getting answers about this Dragor they had encountered and plotted a world take over on earth that only this group knew about apparently. "So it's like your destiny to save the world? When you can just ignore it or let others know about it to let others stop him?" Casey questioned.

Donnie shrugged, "I guess you could say we just took action without knowing it, we all want to stop this guy, so that's what we're doing. We're not going to confront some cops and be like, Hey, stop this guy because he's attempting world invasion. We're mutants, we can't expose ourselves to the public." Casey sighed but understood and flailed around angrily as he lost a game.

A couple hours have passed and it was almost getting dark, everyone was pretty much awake now except Casey and Mikey who were both snoring decently loud, it would be dark in about an hour and they all would arrive in an hour. Donnie turned a small knob next to him which turned on the air as it was honestly pretty hot where they were, "Welcome to San Jose california guys!" Donnie shouted excitedly.

"Should I wake Casey since we're almost there?" April questioned as she glanced at him. Donnie shrugged, "Can let him sleep longer, Kana won't be home until like eight or nine, so we'll be waiting for a bit. I'm not parking close to her house cause she will suspect an armored vehicle too close to her house, people have been after her before." Donnie also stated as he turned into the city. "People are after her?" Raph questioned, "I thought she was undercover…?" April added. Donnie shrugged again, "I'm not one hundred percent sure, but in her files there was a lot of criminal names that stated that they were after her for information and attempted assassinations on her because she is important to the government with the knowledge she possesses in that head of hers."

"She knows how to fight and defend herself, so the only place she isn't guarded is when she's home as she requested it. I also forgot to mention, she stays with her grandmother." Donnie stated with a small chuckle finding it somewhat funny. Donnie pulled into the street they needed to be on, it was dark out and there weren't many lights at all on the street so it was darker than most other streets, he parked decently far from the house as he pointed at the house showing April who had walked over to him to see. Donnie also handed her the blueprint that was on his tablet as it was almost eight on the dot, "How often do people come after her?" April asked, "Not often, but occasionally, considering she is really hard to find it's not often at all, So I really don't know." Donnie stated with a shrug.

Raph woke up Casey and Mikey once it was a little over eight, Leo was still relaxing with his feet up on the dashboard patiently waiting, Donnie rested his chin on his hands on the wheel as he watched the house for Kana to come pulling in, Donnie smiled as he noticed a car drive by them and into the driveway of the house, it was her as she parked and grabbed a few bags and walking up to the door and heading inside, Donnie noticed she glanced over at their vehicle for a second, so she probably suspected them.

Donnie waited a few minutes before giving the go so it didn't seem like a coincidence or suspicion that someone came knocking as soon as she got home, "All right, she's home. She glanced at our vehicle so please be careful you two…" Donnie said worriedly to them as he turned facing Casey and April who stood up.

"Donnie, we'll be fine." Casey stated as he chuckled exiting the Shellcharger, April sighed as she held the tablet close to her chest and followed him out. They both stood on the sidewalk across from the house decently away, the door behind them to the Shellcharger closed and it made Casey jump slightly. "Big toughy is scared of a door close?" April giggled, Casey shot straight up, "No way! It was just too sudden, is all…" April began walking down the sidewalk towards the house raising a hand, "Sure sure…" She mocked him. "Hey! Come on, wait up! It was just a scary game earlier that has got me pumped up!" Casey shouted frighteningly as he ran to catch up to her.

April and Casey crossed the street towards the house as they approached the driveway. April glanced at the Shellcharger and sighed, she walked straight towards the door not afraid at all as she wanted to be useful for once for the guys, April and Casey stood next to each other in front of the door where April then knocked on the door. Both April and Casey yelped at the sudden door open and face in their faces, it was the grandmother who opened the door and peered at them closely squinting her eyes as the two clung to each other frightened, she had strange make up on her face and her hair was tied up with a towel. "Oooh! You must be here for cookies!" The grandmother stated excitedly, April pushed Casey off of her, "Umm no miss, we're here to talk to Kana.. It's something important." April said with a smile.

The grandmother squinted her eyes again, "Cookies sound great too though!" Casey said excitedly as he did want some. The grandmother laughed which left Casey and April confused, "Good luck getting anything from her, come come!" She said excitedly, grabbing Casey and April and dragging them into the house. April and Casey were left shocked as they sat on the couch confusingly, the grandmother came walking out of the kitchen with a fresh batch of cooked cookies and sat them on the table in front of the two. Casey drooled a bit and excitedly grabbed and ate some cookies as April only sighed, "I'll go get Kana and let you guys chat, I have to go watch my show in my room anyway. Toodles!" The grandmother stated as she waved her fingers at them and went upstairs calling Kana's name loudly, "Want one? They're amazing!" Casey stated as he waved a Cookie in front of her.

April glanced at the Cookie that Casey was waving in her face and only sighed, "No, Casey. We're not here for cookies, remember." She glared at him. "Your loss." Casey shrugged as he munched on more cookies. April glanced as she heard footsteps coming from the stairs, it was Kana who literally had a gun in her hand pointing it at Casey and April, April instantly raised her hands, Casey noticed this and looked over to see why and saw the gun which spooked him immensely causing him to freak and flip the somewhat hot pan that had the cookies on it and smacked himself in the face with it and fell to the floor. "Woah Woah! Kana, we're not here for trouble!" April shouted worriedly and frightened, Kana angrily glared at her still pointing the gun, "You're from that armored vehicle, aren't you! Any kind of Armored vehicle nearby normally wants trouble!" Kana stated angrily as she walked down the stairs slowly, "Look, yes the vehicle is ours, but I promise you we're not here to start anything bad, we just need help and answers, please, we drove all the way from New York!" April stated, giving Kana a serious look.

Kana glared at April, they were just kids, in all her career life she hasn't had trouble with kids. Kana lowered the gun but still angrily glared at April, Casey was still on the floor as he pretty much made himself dizzy. April slowly lowered her hands in relief, "Then what do you want? If it's information, you can forget it. I don't even know how two teens even found me..." Kana stated as she stood on the end of the table. April sighed, "A friend of ours found you through a lab research file of the governments… Do you… know what this is? Please, the world is in danger if we can't get answers." April questioned as she raised the tablet to Kana, showing her the blueprint to the teleporter.

Kana glanced at the blueprint and showed a little bit of surprise, April knew instantly she knew what it was by just looking at it. "Never seen it before, go home! I already told you, you can forget it." Kana said angrily. "You're lying." April said giving her a serious look, April and Kana both glared at each other but then both looked down as they heard a loud munching sound, it was Casey who was eating the cookies off the ground and chuckled innocently when he noticed them looking at him.

A beeping alarm set off in the Shellcharger which spooked all the turtles, Donnie instantly glanced at a monitor to see why the alarm was going off, he noticed a bunch of vehicle lights approaching from behind that were armed to the teeth and pulling up fast to Kana's house, all the turtles came together and looked at the monitor and out the front window, "What's going on Donnie!?" Raph questioned confusingly, Donnie shrugged "I don't know, they don't look government, looks like a cult, they might be here for Kana!" he stated.

April glanced at the windows as she noticed a bunch of sudden bright lights being shined through the windows in the front of the house, Kana and Casey also did. "I knew it! You did bring trouble!" Kana said, raising the gun and pointing it at April again who raised her hands frighteningly. "Oh for the love of god, Kana look, I'm not kidding or lying here, I have no idea who they are but if you put that down I can help you! Honest!" April stated, looking at Kana seriously showing her she wasn't kidding. Kana flinched an eye angrily but lowered the gun with an annoyed sigh, April quickly grabbed her phone out of her pocket and called Donnie who answered quickly, "Donnie, what's going on!? Who are these guys?" April asked as she peered through a window blind noticing all the vehicles surrounding the house.

"Not sure, but all I know is they are after Kana, so probably more bad guys wanting information out of her!" Donnie stated, April shrugged "Can you handle them?" Donnie laughed, "Can I handle them? I can deal with them, I've been wanting to test this baby out all day with its weapon system!" Donnie put April on the inside com of the vehicle so he could communicate with her from inside the vehicle without having to hold the phone to his ear, Donnie quickly flipped a dozen switches above himself and some buttons, which powered on the Shellcharger and its weapons.

"Leo, Raph, remote controlled weapons!" Donnie shouted and pointed to where they needed to be, Controls popped out from the side of the wall with monitors above them, one was a mounted Mini gun, and the other was a mounted tranq gun. Raph and Leo were shocked in amazement as they both had sparkles in their eyes and instantly ran to the controls, Donnie flipped another switch above him which powered on the high beams of the headlights, which literally gave light through the entire street in front of them and on all the enemies that were parked in front of Kana's house.

Leo flipped a switch which powered on the mounted tranq gun, "Shoot their tires, Raph." Leo said as he turned the gun towards all the enemies where Raph did the same. "Easy peasy!" Raph laughed, he was going to make sure none escaped or attempted something with their vehicles by shooting out their tires and Leo would pretty much knock out the enemies when they came out of the vehicles with high tranqs that knock out even a bear instantly for a day straight.

Casey glued himself to the window as he noticed the Shellcharger power on and weapons pop out of it from the top, he was overwhelmingly amazed and excited to see this go down. Kana practically joined Casey as she was also amazed, "Holy cow!? I'm guessing your friends are operating that?!" Kana questioned, "Ohh yeahh!" Casey said excitedly. Casey moved away from the window and counted with his fingers as he mentioned what the Shellcharger all had to Kana, "Bulletproof windows, Heavy armor, bulletproof tires, mounted weapons, inside weapons, built in side tools such as oil slick, tacks, ya name it! It even has a stealth bike inside below it!" Casey said. "It looks military, that's how you guys get around without cops on you, huh." Kana questioned, Casey nodded.

Kana instantly widened her eyes and gasped in shock, April and Casey looked at her confusingly, "I know who these guys are now! They are part of a cult called Arcane Enigma, they've been after me for a long time now and they're a huge and I mean huge gang, so even if your friends took out this group, more are to arrive, probably on their way now!" "Hear that, Donnie?" April asked as she had him on speaker, "Yeah I heard! If this is true, you'll have to hop in and come with us then, I can easily ram through them and park close enough for you guys to get in and get away and lose them. Staying here won't be any good as a large weaponized war will break loose if more are going to arrive and fill this street with vehicles putting everyone in these houses in danger and stray bullets." Donnie stated, "This is your choice though, Kana. We're just strangers to you after all."

April and Casey glanced at Kana waiting for an answer, April nodded her head at Kana "I promise you, you can trust us." Kana sighed and shrugged, "Fine, I rather take my chances with some strangers than the worst known cult in history. They want me, not anyone else, my grandmother will be fine left alone here, Arcane only focuses on going after one single person at a time, they don't involve innocents unless they actually help that person they are going after. So they'll be after you guys now…" Kana said as she looked at both Casey and April worriedly but also grateful for their help. April chuckled and smiled at Kana, "Trust me, we've been through worse."


	9. Chapter 9: Trouble Follows

**Chapter 9: Trouble Follows**

Donnie received the go ahead from April that Kana agreed to come along, Donnie flipped a switch to his right which which lowered the ram to the front of the vehicle, the enemies had already turned their attention to the Shellcharger and started firing guns and mini mounted guns from their vehicles at them, but had no effect whatsoever. "It would take five missiles to break this window you fools!" Donnie giggled as bullets were being deflected off the window in front of him.

Raph rolled his eyes as he fired the mini gun at the tires of all the vehicles, it took a few bullets before most of them popped considering most of the tires on some of their vehicles were also bulletproof, but not as bulletproof as the Shellchargers. "Remind me not be around when Donnie gets too excited to test out something destructive…" Raph stated, Leo only smiled and shrugged and waited a bit before firing the tranqs so none of them would pass out right through the ramming Donnie was about to pull.

Donnie had a wide smile on his face, he was too excited and happy to finally get into action with his new vehicle to be overwhelmed by shyness with the amount of people around. Donnie stepped on the gas as he charged towards the enemies towards Kana's house, he rammed through the vehicles that were blocking the way and most the people that were out had jumped out of the way, he parked as close as possible to the front door which was a few feet in front of it as the Arcane enemies were still firing at them.

April put her phone back in her pocket as the three of them were crouched low incase of stray bullets, she noticed the Shellcharger parked in front and gave the go to Casey and Kana who opened the front door, Donnie opened the side doors for them and waited on them as Leo and Raph were still firing and distracting the Arcane's. April grabbed Kana's hand and led her to the Shellcharger where Casey followed along behind them quickly as they all ran into the vehicle. Kana stood up straight in sudden surprise as she noticed the turtles, Mikey was just relaxing on a chair munching his snacks "Waddup!" he said with a wave.

"Mutants." Kana stated, she wasn't frightened at all. April raised an eyebrow, "So, you do know what mutants are. Guess you really do know a lot." Kana turned and looked at April giving a sigh, "Tell you what, once we lose the Arcane Enigma, I'll tell you all that I know about what you're needing for answers, my thanks and gift to you guys for the help you're providing me."

Donnie pressed on the gas and turned sharply past the Arcane's, avoiding the knocked out one's on the ground and booked it down the street away from them, Raph was unable to shoot some of the tires from some vehicles due to them being blocked by other vehicles. Some of them followed behind, Donnie turned sharply to the left exiting Kana's street from her house, Kana was correct too about more on the way as a dozen more vehicles showed up in front and behind them. Donnie pretty much just kept going and rammed his way through most who didn't decide to turn out of the way, Raph kept trying to shoot most of their tires but these people were smart and kept dodging and weaving as they followed.

"Damn! These guys are smarter than the damn Purple Dragons!" Raph growled angrily. Leo let out a small growl as well disabling the mounted tranq gun as it lowered back down, he walked over to Donnie and flipped a switch above him, the Stealth bike popped up from the floor. "Are you insane!?" April shouted worriedly, "Look, I'm just going to get rid of a few of them with the mounted guns on the bike, they have faster vehicles and will stay on our ass." Leo stated as he put on a bike helmet and got onto the stealth bike. "He'll be fine, I rather save our supplies anyway considering they aren't easy to get, especially the tacked spikes…" Donnie stated with a small sob.

April crouched next to Leo as he turned the bike on with the flip of a switch, "What about your arm? I know it's been hurting you still…" April asked worriedly, "What about it? Not like it'll prevent my driving.." Leo stated with a small confused smile. April gave him an angry annoyed look, "You're more persistent than these Arcane's. Just be careful please…" April sighed and stood, Leo chuckled lightly and activated stealth mode covering the top of the bike to also protect himself from bullets, Donnie pushed a button that lowered the bike and hatch and released him out the back of the Shellcharger.

Leo swerved past the vehicles that still chased the Shellcharger as they really didn't notice the bike until late, Leo was practically already behind all the vehicles, he activated the mounted mini guns on the bike as two guns folded outward and aimed straight. April glanced at one of the monitors that had the view behind them, multiple of the Arcane's were still pursueing them, Leo was right about having to use the Stealth bike, Raph was having trouble shooting the tires as the mounted mini gun was too high up and could only aim so low.

"Doesn't this have side weapons?" April asked. Donnie shrugged, "Just on the left side as the door is on the right, all though the weapon on the side is a flame thrower…" "FlameThrower!? That is so cool!" Casey shouted as he was sitting with Mikey munching on some snacks. April sighed and facepalmed and sat in the passenger seat, "Isn't there anything else we can do?" She questioned looking at all the buttons and switches. Donnie only glanced at her, "Oil slick and tacks are a last resort, just trust Leo and Raph to deal with them. Trust me, even if they can't and the Oil and tacks don't work, I got other ideas." he stated as he made a sharp turn, April shrugged annoyed.

"What is that!?" One of the Arcane men shouted from a vehicle and pointed behind them, "Looks like a bike!?" Another shouted in reply. "With guns on it!" Another Arcane said in shock and fright. Leo gained speed and turned the weapons and aimed for the tires of the vehicles and already started firing and popping some tires before the men could react, Leo was perfectly low and close enough to shoot the tires, so they couldn't dodge and weave out of the way from him. Some of the men turned their firepower at Leo as bullets reflected off the armor of the bike, they noticed it had no effect but continued to fire anyway.

"Leo's taking all the glory!" Raph shouted angrily as he angrily started to fire the gun at the vehicles engines instead of trying for the wheels. Raph was careful when firing though knowing if he shot the engine too much it would explode the vehicle, he shot certain parts of the engine that would cause the vehicle to break down. One of the vehicles flipped over from a popped tire, Leo swerved out of the way as it came barreling towards him.

"Kana, can you guide me here!? I don't know the streets here and don't wanna get us in a dead end…" Donnie shouted frighteningly as each turn he made scared him. Kana knew this place like the back of her hand, she ran and stood behind Donnie and glanced out the window and monitors back and forth realizing where they were and helped guide him.

Leo noticed one of the Arcane men pop up from a vehicle and sit on top of it with a large weapon in hand, he noticed it was a rocket launcher in his hands and aimed at him. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me…" Leo said surprised, Leo pressed on the brakes and swerved out of the way of the fired rocket the man had quickly already fired at him, Leo noticed it took time to reload another rocket so he took advantage of that. Leo used the vehicles around him as shields as he made his way to the vehicle with the launcher, he quickly swerved and made a turn dodging another rocket and turned the bike in a circle and instantly fired the mini guns shooting out the tires of that vehicle. The tires made a loud pop sound and swerved, circling unstably and crashed on the side of the road.

Leo glanced at the Monitor below that had the back view and noticed more Arcane's approaching, Leo growled angrily, "How many of you are there!?" Leo pushed a button that activated Oil Slick, which covered just about the entire street as it would spread to stop the incoming Arcane's, and it worked as they all crashed and swerved into one another. "We can hide in a populated parking lot just down the next street!" Kana said as she pointed, Donnie activated the com, "Leo, can you get them all off of us so we can hide?" He asked. "Sure can." Leo stated upping his speed to gain on them, surprisingly the bike was able to go faster and gain on these vehicles even though it was in stealth mode and slowed down because of it. Leo quickly shot out more tires as he was literally the main reason for taking so many of them out, this pissed the Arcane's off as they all turned their attention to Leo as they agreed to take care of him first leaving just one vehicle to pursue the Shellcharger.

Leo turned on an opposite street leading the rest away, the one vehicle that pursued them moved closer and stayed up on the Shellchargers ass to where Raph couldn't shoot them at all and this angered him as he let out an angered growl. Donnie smirked and pushed a button, releasing some Oil Slick from the back, this caused the vehicle to instantly swerve and turn with how close it was and flip over in the middle of the road. Donnie turned into the parking lot, Kana was right, it was full of fun activities regarding vehicle decorations and full of people and cars, bikes, there was even an old tank here and some old armored cars, it was like a small festival but for vehicles. Donnie drove through disabling all the weapons and raising the ram from the front, this already amazed a dozen people as he did it driving past them so no one would get hurt, he made his way deeper and found a nice spot to park at.

"What about Leo?" April asked worriedly, Donnie flipped a few switches powering off the Shellcharger, "He can handle himself, the Stealth Bike has a tracker on it, he can easily find his way back to the Shellcharger." April shrugged annoyingly, she turned her attention to Kana, "So where are we? And you promised answers." April stated. "We're at a car festival, this happens every once a week, and today is the day for it. So we got lucky, and by the looks of it, if this vehicle entered, it would for sure win." Kana chuckled lightly and pointed at the monitors, everyone was pretty much standing next to each other and they all glanced at the monitors, a lot of people were gathering around the Shellcharger and looking at it, while most would even touch and investigate it. "They can't see us through the window… right, Donnie?" Raph questioned, Donnie nodded, "No, it's a pitch black window on the outside, only we can see out of it from the inside, they can't see us even if they glued their face to it." He stated.

One man outside in the crowd approached the front of the Shellcharger and placed his hands on the hood, Donnie glanced and noticed this as the others were about to start talking for answers, the man was about to lift the hood to check out the engine and this pissed Donnie off, "Oh HELL NO!" Donnie growled angrily, "Keep your filthy paws off the engine!" Donnie flipped the switch above him that lowered the ram that practically did cover the hood, the ram always made a decently loud sound before dropping and this spooked the man as he jumped back as the ram dropped in front, the man was shocked and frightened but everyone else was amazed.

Everyone just stared at Donnie, Donnie glanced at them all with all eyes on him. "What!?" He asked looking at them all, "Anyway, what do you know about this?" April asked, showing her the blueprint again, Kana put her fingers to her chin as she looked at the blueprint, "Well, what do you guys know about it first? So I can get on track here, you said the world is at sake because of it." Everyone looked at each other and then back at Kana, after a few minutes of explaining the situation of all they knew and about Dragor, Kana then knew and understood their situation more clearly and why they needed answers.

Kana shrugged, "This Dragor, his real name is Den Na' Vor, it's what we call his species, look, I don't much about this teleporter as it is centuries old and I've tried researching on it as much as possible, but just couldn't entirely crack it. I know a bit about Dragor though." Kana stated. "Ok… well, do you know why he fears Leo? He said he hasn't been subdued in ages, so we sorta thought he was an extremely rare and very powerful species that can only be overcome by very few." Donnie asked her, "You're right about that actually, he is an extremely rare species from another planet millions of light years away, they are pretty uncommon on his planet though, I don't know how he got here, but clearly he came here for the teleporter and wants to take over earth. So perhaps his planet is dying, not sure. But what I do know about them fearing another is because it is true that there is usually another that can overcome their power, But it could also be because he was weakened." Kana began, "Weakened?" April questioned.

"His pattern and colors, he's a red Den Na' Vor, meaning he gets way more powerful in heated places, and gets weaker in cooler places. You said you were from New York, that's pretty far, but New York is also a cold place, so it's highly possible he was weakened too. But who knows, maybe your friend was able to prevent and hold him back, Dragor doesn't know his own strength, so he doesn't know when he's weakened or powerful, but he is still very strong even in cold areas, so that explains why he seemed afraid, but he also cracked your friends blade, not shatter or snap it when he should've easily been able too even in cold area. A katana is the strongest and sharpest known blade in history, it can literally chop off limbs and slice through a bone, he had his blades crossed together which would add more strength to them, so that it could block his attack easier without being snapped." Kana explained. "Red? His colors were blue..." April questioned. Kana only shrugged, "Yes, but he's a red flame dragon and his main color is blue. Colors don't always mean the same based on element, just because he is blue doesn't mean he is stronger in the cold. We've experimented and spied on him, so we know."

"Guys, we have a problem." It was Leo on the com, "Are you ok!?" April asked worriedly, "I'm fine, I already lost the Arcane's." Leo stated, "What is it then?" Donnie added. "They literally have a tank out on the streets looking for us." He began, "A Tank!?" Raph shouted surprisingly, "Who the hell are these guys!?" He added as he glared at Kana. "I told you, these guys are the worst known cult in history, I already know about your Purple Dragons in New York, but these Arcane's are smarter and more advanced, and armed. Not even cops will mess with them here, and the government can't call in the military to handle them because of the president not allowing it." She stated.

"Oh great!" Raph growled, "So now what!?" He added. "We wait till they stop pursuing us." Donnie said, raising an eye, "Oh, they won't stop. They have eyes everywhere, and now they know what your vehicle looks like, they'll be looking for it specifically." Kana said. "Everywhere!? Then why are we hiding here in such a populated area?!" Raph growled, "Because considering they found me, they'll have ALL their forces after and looking for me, meaning none will be here until later on." Kana stated with a glare at Raph.

Leo pulled into the car festival and he was confused from all that he saw on the monitors as he was still in stealth mode, covered. Leo disabled the mounted mini guns as they folded inward a bit and pointed upward disabling, this amazed people as they glanced at the bike as he drove slowly through all the people to get to the Shellcharger. Leo pulled up to where the Shellcharger was, and it was surrounded by a couple dozen people, Leo growled lowly annoyed, he rubbed on the engine of the bike letting out a large burst of engine sound to spook the people to move out of the way as he slowly made his way to the back of the Shellcharger, Donnie noticed Leo had arrived and activated the hatch to let him in, a lock on popped out from under the Shellcharger and opened the back a bit that only the Stealth Bike could fit into, Leo pulled up into it as people moved out of the way and the Bike snapped onto the lock and was pulled under and closed, people clapped in amazement.

The hatch in the floor raised up with the bike, Leo uncovered the bike and took the helmet off as he got off the bike and looked at the gang, "Of all places…?" he growled lowly. Donnie shrugged innocently as he closed the hatch and lowered the bike, "Can I see your cracked Katana please?" Kana asked Leo as he stretched from having to stay in one position with that bike, Leo only looked at her confusingly but shrugged in agreement as grabbed the blade from the sheath on his back, he flipped the katana and held it by the blade as he had the hilt handed out to Kana who grabbed it and investigated it, she rubbed two fingers across the blade and cracks, "Oh yeah, he could've probably broke the blade if you blocked with just one blade." Kana stated as she was still investigating the sword.

"The teleporter needed materials, I know about the materials that are needed in order to build and operate it, it is true that they aren't from here. But Dragor already has the materials needed, he's just missing one and the blueprint." Kana added as she handed the sword back to Leo. "I knew it!" Donnie said excitedly, April glanced at Donnie then back to Kana, "Do you know where the teleporter came from? We think it's not from his world…" She asked. Kana shrugged, "Like I said, I hardly know anything about the teleporter, but my best guess based on what I know so far is that it's from another world not of Dragors, it's been hidden here way longer than he has, some of the materials have already been found and were placed in museums or research labs, one piece is still hidden, no one knows where it is." Kana said with a sigh wishing she knew more.

"So you already knew about mutants, huh. You weren't frightened to see us, and how do you know about Dragor?" Raph asked, "I came across Dragor a few weeks ago, he's not the first mutant I've encountered, I've came across many others before in my life, even the government here has one helping him that only him and I know about which is a decently larger dragonfly that actually talks, so we sent her to spy on Dragor to get information on him and his sudden arrival." Kana began, "Sudden arrival? How long has he been here?" April asked. "A month, or a little over a month. He's spent his time gathering the materials and looking for the one missing one along with the blueprint you possess apparently." Kana stated.

April smirked a bit, "We have a little spy of our own with inside information, she said Dragor has another way of getting the blueprint… There's more than one?" She asked. "Oh yeah, ever since the blueprint was found, duplicates were made, just like the statues it was found in. So you probably have the original one as it went missing after someone stole it and duplicates stopped being made as researchers found out the teleporter was dangerous as well. So he's probably after a duplicate considering they have the same info as the original and instructions." Kana said with a shrug. "So Dragor most likely already has his hands on the blueprint, anyway we can find the last piece before he does?" Leo questioned Kana, Kana shrugged "Like I said, no one knows where it is or has a clue on how to find it, and that goes for me as well. And I'm sure Dragor is struggling just as much as we are on how to find it."

Leo growled lowly as they had pretty much come towards another dead end, "W-wait, wait! Kana, do you have or know the locations of all the material pieces that have been found?" Donnie asked in sudden realization as he raised a finger, Kana widened her eyes instantly realizing what he was getting at, "Got a map?" She asked him. Donnie instantly opened a small lockbox and pulled out a map of the US and handed it to her, Kana instantly spreaded it on the floor, she pulled out a marker from one of her pockets that she always kept with her and started to circle area's where most the current found materials were located.

Kana pointed to a place on the map with the marker "Here, this is where the final material would be!" she remarked with small excitement. She was somewhat annoyed too how no one thought of this including herself and it frustrated her with how simple it was. Everyone was pretty much hovered over the map and where Kana was pointing, "Mexico City… that's a thirty eight hour drive from here." Donnie said with a small sob.

Leo glanced at Kana, "Will the Arcane's follow us out of San Jose?" Kana shrugged, "Of course they will, they cover all of California, they'll even follow you back to New York and bring more if they knew where you stayed just to hunt you down. They're a ruthless and persistent cult, and they will continue to search for days. Donnie stood up and wobbled over the couch and collapsed on it, "Well I seriously need a nap, I've been awake just about two days and driving twenty four hours straight, Leo you're driving." He stated as he gave a weak wave and turned his back to them all.

Leo moved his look from Donnie back to Kana and crossed his arms as he stood up, "You fine with going along with us, or do you have somewhere we can drop you off safely?" He questioned. Kana stood up and smirked at him, "I am not missing this! I have spent years researching this teleporter searching for the materials and finding out more about it, of course I am coming along! I'm going to help you guys with this puzzle and stop this Dragor, the world is at sake because of him, no? And you need as much information and answers as possible, yes?" Everyone pretty much had smiles on their faces as they all were looking at Kana with grateful looks, Leo smirked and slammed a fist into his hand, "No point in sitting around then, it's time to go to Mexico City for that last Material!"


	10. Chapter 10: On The Road Again

**Chapter 10: On The Road Again**

"Do you think you can find the specific area or spot in Mexico on where it might be, maybe a museum?" April asked Kana who was sitting on the floor against the wall of the Shellcharger, "Sadly no, there is no info based on it, there had to be search parties throughout the entire area for the other materials, it took months before they were found." Kana said with a sad shrug.

Leo sat at the wheel and flipped a few switches, powering on the Shellcharger and raised the ram from being lowered when Donnie got upset with the one man getting too curious. They were still parked in the car festival that was happening, Leo glanced out the window and noticed the tank he saw earlier pass by on the main street, they were still searching the area for them. Leo sighed and powered off the Shellcharger, April glanced at him confusingly, "What's wrong Leo?" She questioned worriedly, Leo put his right leg above his left and peered over his shoulder, "How do you guys feel like decorating the Shellcharger?" he asked with a small smirk as he pointed at April, Kana and Casey.

Casey was dumbfounded but excited as he would love to decorate and spray paint the vehicle, April and Kana both came to realization at the same time on why he was asking. "We're too exposed in a heavily armored vehicle, and we're the only armored weaponized vehicle that looks military here." Leo began, "Blending in!" April added excitedly, Leo nodded. Casey still looked confused, April smacked him upside the head, "Doofus, we're going to make the Shellcharger look like it's from the festival, blend in and leave looking like one of the vehicles and the Arcane's will ignore us." She explained to him.

April, Kana and Casey exited the Shellcharger and the crowd of people that surrounded the vehicle taking pictures instantly stopped and looked at them. April smirked as she got a bright idea, "How does everyone feel about helping out with decorating this baby!?" She shouted. Leo noticed this as he was watching from the window, he couldn't help but to chuckle, "Donnie is so going to be upset with me…" he stated as he leaned back in the driver seat waiting. Mikey and Raph sat next to him and watched the monitors as people rushed over with a bunch of decorations.

"Dude, someone actually drew a cock on the side." Raph said as he pointed at one of the monitors and let out a large giggle and started laughing. Leo shrugged, "Welcome to California." Mikey raised an eye, "What's a cock?" Raph was busting out laughing, "Seriously!?" He laughed. "One day, Mikey, one day…" Leo stated.

April put a hand on Kana's shoulder and bowled over laughing hard at how the Shellcharger was turning out, Kana couldn't help but to join in on the laughing, Casey was being squished in the pile of people who decorated the Shellcharger as he gradually kept yelling out, "Anyone got spray paint!?" He asked repeatedly. "Donnie is so going to murder us!" April stated as she was laughing hard, "I can't breathe…" Kana said as she hugged April laughing as well.

After a while it had finally calmed down as April and Kana had to stop and make people back off, April and Kana pretty much started laughing again and also because of Casey who looked like a puddle on the ground from be squished by all the people as he sobbed laying on the ground not being able to decorate. April giggled as she walked to Casey and helped him up, "Come on, time to go." She said, grabbing him, "Maybe Donnie will let you help him when he fixes it up." She added. Leo opened the door for them as they approached the side, "You should see it from the outside... it looks great!" April said as she and the other two entered laughing. "Goodluck explaining this to Donnie." April added as she chuckled glancing at him as he was passed out on the couch still snoring lightly, good thing he is a deep sleeper.

Leo only smirked and let out a small chuckle as he flipped the switches above him, powering the Shellcharger on and rubbing on the engine giving a very loud burst of noise for the people for their help, they all shouted happily in excitement. "Hopefully this works." Leo said as he slowly drove out as people moved out of the way slowly to capture some pictures, Leo kept the Shellcharger dark, lights were off and he made the engine quieter as he drove through the crowds of people towards the exit. Leo noticed the tank drive by again the other way, and he took advantage of this as he noticed it turn down a street as well, as soon as he reached the exit he stepped on the gas and drove down pass the street the tank turned down, the plan actually worked as they drove pass more of the scouting Arcane's.

April and Kana were sitting on the floor with the map spread out trying to figure out possible locations in Mexico City on where the final material piece could be hiding, "Do you know where the materials that are found were found before? Like the exact location, maybe they have a specific pattern?" April asked as she turned to Kana. Kana shrugged, "I've already attempted that, each material was found randomly in random locations, there was no pattern or clues on where the next would be, Like I said, the teleporter is centuries old, no one knows how long it's been hidden here and over time the pieces were found randomly by people."

April sighed and fell back angrily, "Mexico City is the eighth largest city in the world in terms of population, and It's most common language there is Spanish, so I hope you guys know some spanish." Kana said.

Leo shrugged, "We hardly know much Spanish, but mr sleep genius over there knows just about every language. And I'm sure April knows some." "Of course I know some, I didn't graduate early for nothing." April growled lowly, April sat up with another sigh, "Well atleast I get to go see Mexico for once, I've honestly wanted to go there when I was younger."

Kana chuckled lightly, "Same here, I've traveled almost all around the world researching and seeing things in person, I've never gone to Mexico though, not once. But I've researched and read a lot on it, including videos and guides. So I know how to get around it a bit, but not much. And I do know spanish myself, so no need to worry if you don't know much of it." She said, reassuring April as she looked at her and smiled.

April returned the smile with another, all these unknowns that kept coming have been frustrating her, but knowing she wasn't alone and having help made her feel relieved and like she was with her own family, including Kana who had already pretty much accepted her and the turtles. She glanced around, Raph was in the passenger seat next to Leo just relaxing and pretty much ignoring everything as he slowly jammed out to the music that was playing decently low in the vehicle, Mikey and Casey were just constantly snacking on food and playing games behind her and Kana, and of course Donnie was still passed out on the couch after being awake for just about two days.

April sighed as she looked away from Donnie and turned it to Kana, "You won't tell anyone about them...please?" Kana glanced at April and reassured her with a relieving smile, "You guys saved me, who am I to turn my back on you guys after that, you even allowed me to accompany you on this trip and help find this last teleporter piece. Who would believe me anyway? Mutants are all over the world in hiding from humans, that's why the world doesn't know about them, I won't even tell my governor."

Leo peered over his shoulder and glanced at Kana, "Wait, mutants are all over the world in hiding? I thought they were just made from a certain chemical that turns them into mutants, like us." Kana moved her look towards Leo who put his eyes back on the road, "You know what mutated us!?" Raph added as he was turned and looking at Kana, Kana returned his look with a surprised one, "You guys don't know how you became mutants? You weren't humans before?" she questioned.

Raph raised an eye giving her a confused look, "We've been turtles, always." "Our father who also got mutated said we became like this because of some weird green ooze that fell from the sky landing on him and us and turned us into intelligent creatures. He was human before mutating into a genetic animal." Leo added.

"That green ooze is called mutagen, if just a drop of that ooze touched your skin of any living creature, it mutates them into something else, considering you guys were turtles to begin with, it made you all intelligent like a human and you're growing up like a human does too. The same would go for any animal, like a dog for example, it would still be a dog but it would develop an entirely almost new bone structure and intelligence. Now a human on the other hand, if they were exposed to it, they would turn into their genetic animal. All humans have some kind of genetic animal trait in them, like your father." Kana explained.

"Mutagen? Did you guys make it!?" Raph asked angrily with a low growl, Kana shrugged, "No, we came across it. We have no idea where it came from, we researched it and found out what it does, that's how I know about mutants and the ooze, we've also found out that it's still being produced by someone or something, somewhere. We've come across more of the ooze lying around in unknown places, and more sightings of mutants, we're trying our best to keep it secret in San Jose. And if this is also an issue in New York, it could be happening anywhere regarding where this mutagen is coming from."

Raph started growling at her angrily, "Raph, knock it off." Leo snapped at him, Raph growled lowly at Leo but listened as he turned back into the seat and went back to jamming out. "So, Dragor isn't a mutant?" Leo questioned, "Not by the Mutagen considering he is from another world entirely, meaning mutants are also known to be out in space too apparently since his arrival. We knew he wasn't from here because we did get strange reading reports from NASA in the atmosphere outside of earth before it entered, like of a living creature, not of a ship or asteroid closing in." Kana said, putting her knuckles to her chin as she thought. "So It's possible there's going to be mutants even in Mexico City?" April asked, "I did say they were being sighted all over the world, so yes." Kana remarked.

Leo flipped on the headlights when they finally reached the highway, "I just hope we can get there before Dragor does…" April sobbed. April just remembered instantly and she quickly grabbed her phone from her pocket and dialed a number putting it to her ear, Kana looked at her confusingly. "Inside information." April said, giving her a smirk and an ok hand sign.

"Do you have any idea what time it is, April!?" It was Jenna who had answered, "No actually, I do not." April said unamused. "It's midnight, Midnight! And I am trying to sleep!" Jenna growled angrily, April only sighed, "That's besides the point right now, it's about Dragor." she began, Jenna sighed, "What about him?"

"Is he still in New York? We've managed to learn some more about him and the blueprint." April stated as she asked with a somewhat worried tone. "He arrived back here an hour ago after finally finding the blueprint, and went straight to bed saying he had a big busy day tomorrow. That's all I know at the moment." Jenna marked as she yawned. "Thanks, Jenna." April said gratefully as she hung up.

"Step on it Leo, Dragor will be looking for that piece starting tomorrow." April stated as she turned her look back down at the map. "Ya got it." Leo said as he stepped on the gas flying by cars.

Kana looked at April, "He's injured, isn't he?" she asked quietly as she glanced at Leo remarking who she was talking about. April already knew who she was referring too as Leo was the only one here who had a bad injury, April stopped what she was doing and her expression became a sad one, she didn't bother to look at Kana. "Yeah… how did you…?" April began, "I am a researcher… I can tell he has extra bandaging under his main on his right arm." Kana stated, "Did Dragor do it?" She asked, April sighed and looked at Kana, "No, a large Purple Dragon man did with a blade attached to his arms, Dragor did reopen it and make it a bit worse though, he protected me and Mikey and took the hit for our safety, and he also held back Dragor in the result of cracking his blade and reopening the injury to protect his two brothers." She stated as she pointed at Mikey and Donnie behind them.

Kana only gave her a somewhat confused look, April realized this and knew why, "That's right… you don't know our names still fully… that's my bad.." April began, "I'm April O'neil, And that's Leo, Raph, Donnie, Mikey and Casey." April said as she pointed at each of them as she remarked their names.

Kana shrugged, "You all already know mine, so no point in introducing… Wait, O'neil? Do your parents by chance live in a farmhouse a few hours out of New York?" April gave her a surprised look but nodded in agreement with her as she was correct, Kana pointed at her, "Your parents use to work for the research lab in San Jose before you were born, Your mother and father worked together, when your mother got pregnant with you, they both retired and moved to New York in an apartment and then moved out of that after a while to the farmhouse. They were big collectors for ancient materials, statues, artifacts, you name it. That's probably how you got the blueprint…"

"You worked with my parents? How old are you, you look twenty…" April asked, still with a surprised and confused look on her face. Kana chuckled, "I'm actually forty three, I've been working with the research lab for thirty years, eighteen years ago is when your parents retired, they worked almost as long as I have."

April practically was very intrigued with this, her parents never talked much about their past lives or work experience, just always talked about the future for herself. April didn't know this about them and it sorta frustrated her that they kept it secret, but she came to a sudden realization, "Do they know about mutants and the teleporter?" April questioned as her eyes were glued to Kana's. Kana nodded, "We first discovered mutants twenty years ago, I used to work with them a few times, but never really stayed in contact because of my own problems and it's true I tend to avoid people. They put it all behind them though as they wanted a normal life."

April gave a soft smile as she glanced at Leo and Raph, "What fun is there in being normal?" She remarked. Kana noticed this and only chuckled and fell onto her back on the floor, "You're one strange girl, April." April looked down at her and smirked, "Ohh, and you aren't!?" April said as she poked at Kana who only laughed.

A couple hours had passed since they left San Jose, they were approximately still about thirty hours out till Mexico City. Raph was still awake jamming to the music as Leo was still driving, considering he would drive the gang the whole way there, April and Kana passed out next to each other on the floor and Donnie was still passed out on the couch, Mikey sat back relaxing eating on snacks still and Casey was asleep on his shoulder drooling and snoring a bit, It was five am, and it was still dark out.

Leo slammed on the brakes as April and Kana instantly slid forward and woke up crashing face first upward, Raph caught and stopped himself with his legs on the dashboard but was in sudden surprise, Donnie instantly snapped awake as he went flying upward and face planted off the couch, Casey also shot awake as Mikey and him fell over and Mikey practically landed on him and the two began fighting, "Get off me man!" Casey shouted as he wiggled and tried pushing Mikey off of him.

"What the shell Leo!?" Raph yelled sitting up quickly and glaring at him. Leo shrugged slightly, "Sorry, but we got a problem…" he added as he pointed out the window and the monitors. April and Kana sat up straight quickly in shock but stood up and shook it off as they walked up behind to see what was going on, Raph joined them as they all glanced at the monitors and out the window. Casey and Mikey were just practically fighting and arguing with another and Donnie just stayed laying on the floor mumbling to himself angrily, April and the rest noticed why Leo had stopped suddenly, It was a sudden car accident that had just happened right in front of them.

A giant truck and trailer had flipped over and blocked the entire road and caused multiple cars to also crash into one another, it was a large scale accident that linked. And considering they all were in an armored vehicle, anything that crashed or hit them would have no effect, but thankfully they were a decent distance away from the accident that occured and were pretty much stopped and stuck with traffic.

"Great, now we're stuck!? For how long!?" Raph shouted angrily as he glanced at Kana who knew all the answers like Donnie did. Kana noticed this and shrugged, "Few hours maybe… This is pretty big and it's gonna take some time for cops and ambulances to arrive with this big scale of traffic being stopped and blocked." "We don't have that kind of time…" April sobbed.

"We're an hour away until we hit Los Angeles... " Kana added, Leo glanced around the vehicle, even though they weren't entirely on a highway, it still was a busy road considering the highly populated cities being close together, he stayed on West Side Freeway to get to Los Angeles, and like most busy freeways and highways, the sides were blocked by ditches or walls, or normally sticks in the ground, but not in this case. Though they still were blocked in due to the amount of cars that kept coming up behind them and pulling beside them on both sides.

None of the other cars attempted to try and bypass the accident as they all stayed parked, and mostly because none of them were off road vehicles and would go off road to get around. A few dozen people had exited their vehicles and ran past to help and make sure the people who crashed were ok.

Raph let out a large roar and just went back to sitting in the passenger seat. April sighed, she knew Leo was very patient and could wait this out, but everyone was on edge with the world being at sake because of Dragor, Leo knew this as April noticed him looking around for a way through, but it was no good, the Shellcharger was too big to get through any of the gaps and some drivers purposely blocked the gaps so people wouldn't rush through to get by and cause more of an accident.

April placed her hand on Leo's shoulder and smiled at him, "We'll just wait it out, Dragor doesn't know exactly where it is like we do just yet, so we still got some time." April said as she remembered what Kana said beforehand about Dragor being just as lost as they were when it came to finding the teleporter pieces.

"You gotta be kidding me!? We're gonna be cramped in here for god who knows how long because of this!?" Raph growled. April snapped an angry look at Raph, Raph noticed this and instantly shut up as he was somewhat scared of her when she got angry for no apparent reason, almost like being scolded by your mother as he remembered the old days with Splinter and his scolding when he gave the same angry expression. "We are NOT ramming through innocent citizens!" April shouted at him as she also pointed at him angrily, she knew what he was thinking. Raph only hesitated and raised his hands slightly innocently and turned away, putting his feet back on the dashboard.

The cops and ambulances finally arrived after two hours of sitting and waiting, Donnie had practically gone back to sleep on the couch while the others were more on edge with this incident and having to be halted. Though Mikey and Casey were minding their own busy doing their own things and not entirely paying attention at all as they munched away on snacks the entire trip and playing video games.

Though no one blamed or got angry with them, April and Kana knew the turtles were mostly stuck in the Shellcharger the entire time because of the highly populated areas they've been going to, they can't just stop and pull over for an outside stretch.

It took the cops another good two more hours before they could have someone arrive and move all the crashed vehicles off and out of the road so traffic could continue, but slowly. Workers rushed out of arrived vehicles with stop and go signs to steady the traffic, and after about five hours of waiting they were finally able to pass and be back on the road again.


	11. Chapter 11: Oh The Dangers

**Chapter 11: Oh The Dangers**

After finally being able to leave the accident that occured, they had finally entered Los Angeles. Donnie was practically back to sleep, Mikey and Casey were still arguing over games, Raph decided to take a nap, April and Kana decided to go back to sleep.

It took a good hour to leave Los Angeles due to traffic and get to the road towards Mexico City. Leo let out a small yawn of boredom as he lowered his head a bit and drove, April shot upward with a very unamused tired look on her face.

"Can't sleep?" Leo questioned not even looking at her, April only growled lowly and turned looking at Casey and Mikey who were still growling and arguing with each other decently loud. "How about you two shut up for a bit, or take your arguing to a lower volume or turn the games off!" April growled at the two as she glared at them angrily.

Mikey and Casey stopped and looked at April with innocent looks on their faces showing her they were sorry and nodded, April only sighed and turned back over on the ground to try and go back to sleep finally.

Many hours have passed and everyone pretty much fell asleep except Leo who was driving the gang the entire way to Mexico City, once it became dark, everyone woke up at different times. Leo pulled into an empty rest stop that hardly anyone went to, especially at night, so he was told by Kana. It was a good opportunity for the turtles to finally get out and stretch and move around without being cramped inside the Shellcharger.

Mikey and Casey rushed over to the restrooms as they really had to go, Kana and April exited and stretched beside one another, "Feels good to have another girl around." April stated as she glanced at Kana who stretched down to touch her toes. Kana stood and stretched her arms back and looked at April, "Ya'know, same here. I've always avoided people and it's really just been me and my grandmother for multiple years, it feels nice to meet new people you can trust, even if some are mutants." Kana chuckled lightly at the remark she made at the end, but she was also being honest.

Kana let out a large groan, "God it's been ages since I've traveled this long…" She remarked. April only gave her a smile as she stood and peered around, Raph exited the Shellcharger and backed up facing it to see the decorating from earlier as he stood next to the girls with a smirk on his face as Donnie came out next.

Donnie waggled his tired self out of the vehicle and stopped midway to stretch and let out a large yawn, he noticed April, Kana and Raph smirking at him but also moving the eyes behind him which was the Shellcharger.

Leo was about to exit but stopped midway at the door of the Shellcharger noticing what was going on, he couldn't help but to put a small smirk on his face as well as Donnie practically turned around realizing why they all were acting strange.

Donnie's jaw dropped when he saw the Shellcharger, "WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO MY BABY!?" he screamed in horror as his gaze went directly to Leo and became an angry one. "Leooo…. This was your idea! Wasn't it!" Donnie growled.

Leo chuckled as he walked down and towards Donnie, he placed a hand on his shoulder, "Yes, yes it was. It was the only way to get out of San Jose without being pursued by the Arcane's." Donnie sighed and understood, he growled lowly and mumbled curse words as he approached the Shellcharger and started removing decorations angrily.

April and Kana were laughing and Raph pretty much went towards a tree and started punching it as he was needing something to punch for awhile now, Leo practically approached April and Kana with a smirk on his face and the two instantly stopped laughing knowing something was up, "How about you two help him, considering you made the group of citizens decorate it." Leo stated with a small glare at the two, April sighed and raised her hands slightly innocently and walked past him to go help Donnie, Kana chuckled a bit as she followed behind April.

Leo pretty much also joined in to help remove the decorations on the Shellcharger, Mikey and Casey came exiting the restrooms and played rock, paper, scissors to see who would pick out the next choice of snacks. Raph got a small splinter and let out a small yelp before growling and pulling it out and walked back over to the vehicle.

After decorations were cleared and everyone had their breaks, it was time to get back onto the road as they were pretty much really close to Mexico City now.

"So umm, you need a passport card in order to enter Mexico, and I didn't bring mine because of the sudden incident…" Kana began as Leo entered the driver seat and turned to look at her raising an eye. "What!?" Raph yelled angrily at her, "So we can't even get into Mexico!?" he added. Kana glared at him, "I never said that, maybe if you let me finish before coming to a conclusion, your questions would be answered!" Kana growled at Raph in return since he seemed to only understand anger and aggression.

Kana and Raph pretty much growled angrily at each other and left the others in confusion and unamusement. Leo rolled his eyes, "So you're saying you know a way in even without a passport?" he questioned as he looked at Kana.

Kana nodded, "It's a shorter way too, but it's also very dangerous. We would have to go through a dangerous town to get into Mexico City part, but that really shouldn't be a problem in this vehicle." April noticed a light flicker out the front window of the driver seat, as if a reflection of something from the moonlight, April widened her eyes and quickly took action.

"Leo!" April shouted as she jolted at him, Leo looked at her in surprised confusement as she quickly jumped on him and pulled him off the driver seat and both tumbled to the floor. Everyone stood up instantly in surprise confusement as well but knew instantly why she did what she did when they all heard a loud crack.

Leo turned over and noticed cracks in the window, a bullet had pierced through the window and got stuck in the seat where Leo was sitting before April saved his ass, otherwise he would've been shot. Raph turned his look from the bullet to Donnie, "I thought you said the window was bullet proof and unbreakable!" He shouted angrily as he was sitting in the passenger seat.

Donnie shrugged slightly, "It is… can you quickly grab the bullet." he asked as he glanced at the bullet and back at Raph. Raph growled lowly and peered at the bullet stuck in the seat, he quickly jumped over and grabbed it, yanking it out very quickly and moving back, but there was no second shot thankfully.

Raph tossed the bullet to Donnie who caught it and raised it, turning it around, Leo sat up and helped April up as well, "Thanks." Leo stated as he smiled at her next to him, April put a hand on his shoulder and returned the smile with one as well, "Seems I finally returned that save."

"It's a piercing round…" Donnie stated as he still gazed and experimented the bullet, everyone kept their distance from the window. "And?" Raph questioned, "A piercing round can literally pierce through anything, even the toughest of bullet proof glass, but a bullet like this is extremely hard to come by, only the-" Donnie was cutoff, " Government has such possessions, or military special forces." Kana finished as she interrupted, Kana covered her mouth in sudden realization that she had interrupted him. "Sorry…" She stated, Donnie and everyone else only looked at her, "No no, you're actually correct. But my question is, who the hell fired this and almost killed Leo, let alone how did they know Leo was even in the seat, that window is pitch black on the outside….unless…" Donnie began.

Everyone raised an eye at Donnie as if telling him to continue already, "Sniper." Kana added, Donnie nodded. "He probably had a thermal lens, snipers can fire a bullet extremely powerfully too, but what's someone doing all the way out here trying to snipe us?" Donnie questioned as he tossed the bullet to Kana.

Kana caught it close to her chest and experimented it, and came to a sudden realization as she got a closer look at the bullet. "Agent John." She said, everyone only looked at her confusingly, "He's a undercover agent that works for my government, and my personal guard when I am working. My government probably found out about the incident at my place and sent John to search for me, he probably thinks you guys kidnapped me." Kana explained as she quickly turned to April who was still sitting on the floor next to Leo.

"Can I borrow your phone so I can call him off?" Kana asked, April nodded as she reached for her cell phone in her pocket and handed it to her. Kana dialed the number for her government but he wouldn't answer considering the number was unknown, Kana growled angrily and tried John himself, April put her hand on Leo's shoulder again and shook him a bit to get his attention as she pointed at the window, Leo glanced at where she was pointing, and she was showing him the light flickering high up in mountain hillside which was the sniper.

Leo nodded and he crouched his way to the switches staying below the window and out of view, "We have thermals too buddy." Leo mumbled as he flipped two switches, he made one of the monitors zoom in on the area that April showed him and switched the camera mode to thermal, and she was right. The thermal showed a man crouched down with a sniper gun in hand pointed directly at the vehicle's window and ready to fire again.

Kana growled angrily, "They don't answer unknown numbers and they always have text messages blocked from unknown numbers, I don't have any other way to contact them since I don't have my phone." Kana handed April her phone back with a sad sigh, "So we're stuck like this until he leaves!?" Raph growled, "Not on my watch." Leo stated, everyone looked at him as he flipped another switch, the mounted gun on top of the vehicle folded out and up and turned, aiming at the man on the hillside. "Will our bullets reach him?" Leo asked as he glanced at Donnie.

Donnie smirked, "They're Seven MM Mag Rifle rounds loaded into that machine gun, they can travel five miles, so yes, they will reach." "Please don't kill him…" Kana asked worriedly. Leo marked coordinates for the gun, "We don't kill unless necessary, he's here for you and to get you back, we aren't going to kill him, just gonna fire warning shots to make him move so we can move." Leo stated as he confirmed coordinates.

April reassured Kana that Leo wasn't lying and pointed at his injured arm to mark what she was getting at based on what he said and what April told her about his save beforehand, Kana smiled at April understanding. The mounted machine gun on top turned towards its marked coordinates and fired three rounds, Leo watched the thermal monitor as the bullets had hit the ground literally right next to the agent.

Leo growled lowly, "What is it?" April questioned, "He ain't flinching. He knows they were warning shots and he most likely knows we aren't wanting to kill him." Leo stated as he glanced at Kana. "He lowered the sniper and is doing hand signs I don't even understand." He added. Kana widened her eyes, "Hand signs! Duh!" Kana came to realization as she quickly crouched her way beside Leo to see the monitor. "It is Agent John! We have our own special hand signs to communicate without needing to talk in case of distance during combat or something. He's saying…" Kana began as she squinted her eyes reading the signs he was doing. "Warning shots? You with Kana?" Kana read as she followed the signs.

Kana raised her hands in front of the window and started doing hand signs as well when the agent lifted the sniper up and aimed it at the window again to see if anything through the thermal lens. Leo noticed the agent lower the sniper again when Kana finished, he glanced at her confusingly. "I told him that you guys are with me and helped me, I also told him that I am willingly going with you to Mexico in search of an item and that I was ok." Kana stated, "And umm… He's coming on down over here…" she added.

Leo gave a surprised look as he noticed the agent was gone from the spot, Raph had already peered behind Leo to look at the monitor. "Dude, is that an attack helicopter!?" Raph shouted as he shoved Leo aside and put his face in front of the monitor. Kana chuckled as she moved away, "Yes, he has a personal attack helicopter to get around." Kana motioned for one of them to open the side door, Leo shoved Raph off and away and flipped a switch up top and opened the side door.

Kana glanced at April and Casey, "You two should come with me, you four stay here. I don't want him telling the government about four turtle mutants." Kana stated as April and Casey followed her out.

The helicopter flew on over, thankfully the rest stop area was a large one, so there was plenty of space for the chopper to land. The helicopter landed not too far from the vehicle and powered down slowly, John exited the chopper and walked around, gun in hand and pointed it at the three who approached slowly. Kana instantly stopped and spread her hands to her sides protecting and covering April and Casey, "Woah Woah, John! It's me, it's ok, I promise!" Kana shouted over the loud helicopter that took it's time to power down.

John lowered the gun and raised his head and squinted looking at Kana as it was hard to see in the dark, "It really is you. And you truly willingly went along with a bunch of kids?" John questioned as he put the gun away and walked up to them. "These kids helped and saved me, and also know stuff that I have been researching and looking for, for a long time now, so I decided to go with them to research on it and to get away from the Arcane's." Kana explained to him.

John only raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Casey and April who both waved innocently. He moved his glance back to Kana, she wasn't showing any signs of being kidnapped or forced to talk the way she was, she really was willingly going with a bunch of so called kids. John sighed, "You're going to Mexico?" he questioned, Kana nodded as she quickly turned to April and held her hand out glancing at her pocket for her phone, April only gave a confused look the entire time as she reached for her phone and handed it over to Kana.

Kana glared at John as she handed him the phone, "Add this number please." John glanced at Kana and then the phone, he sighed and grabbed it and pulled his phone out and added the number as told. April and Casey pretty much went back to the Shellcharger, the turtles looked at the two of them confusingly and also in a way wanting answers, April gave them a shrug as she was just as confused.

Kana came back after a few minutes from chatting with John, they all heard the chopper turn on outside and knew he was leaving. Leo closed the doors when Kana entered, "Ok so, he is leaving and won't pursue us or shoot at us anymore. So we're good to go." Kana stated excitedly.

"Better not have some second agent waiting to snipe my head off…" Leo stated as he went back into the driver seat and powered on the Shellcharger quickly and drove out of the rest area.

"You two have a thing for each other, don't you?" April asked Kana with a smirk on her face as the two were sitting on the floor next to one another again. Kana glanced at April and let out a small chuckle but also nodded, "I won't lie, we do. He's been my personal guard for a few years now and we've gotten really close." Kana let out a small sigh as she stood up and pulled out a small map and walked up to Leo, she handed him the map and directed him where to go in order to get into Mexico without a passport before she went back and sat next to April on the floor.

After a few more hours, they had reached Mexico's border. Leo took a turn onto a dirt road to get around the passport check in area, Casey let out a large sneeze that spook everyone as it was pretty much silent for a while. "Sorry… new places give me allergies." Casey remarked giving another sneeze, Mikey laughed at him as the two began to fight.

Leo pulled up and slowed down when they approached the dangerous town, "This place is full of bandits, muggers, criminals, you name it. People avoid crossing through here at all times unless they can manage getting through with something protective, like this vehicle. These people will work together to take advantage of vehicles coming through, they will shoot at it, pound at it or even attempt to kill the driver if not protected." Kana explained as Leo slowly pulled into the town, they were already getting devastatingly angry and villainess looks directed at them.

All the people practically avoided the Shellcharger and only gave angry glares as they drove through, Leo came a sudden stop as he growled lowly. Raph became overwhelmingly angry with all the sudden stops and being slowed down, he quickly stood up to see why Leo had stopped. He noticed a cloaked hooded person standing directly in the middle of the road looking a different direction, Raph growled and grabbed Leo by the scarf and arm and threw him out of the driver seat and into the passenger, Raph took over the wheel and lowered the front ram quickly. Leo clutched his teeth and eyes from the sudden throw and impact, he glared at Raph and attempted to grab him off the wheel but Raph pretty much kicked Leo back down into the passenger seat.

"Raph! Do not do what I know you're going to do!" Leo growled angrily as Raph rubbed on the engine loudly and threatened the person that if they didn't move he would charge them. "Better move pal!" Raph growled, "Raph, don't harm innocents!" Donnie shouted at him worriedly. Raph ignored them as he noticed the person not reacting at all and they only lowered their head from when they were looking up the other direction.

Raph growled loudly and slammed on the gas, Leo was about to get back up but fell back from the sudden gas push, everyone else also fell and slid back. The cloaked person put a hand up towards the vehicle and it confused Raph, but he noticed the hand and it looked very familiar, he attempted to slam on the breaks but couldn't stop and the person literally stopped the Shellcharger with their hand as everyone jolted forward from the sudden stop.

The person moved their gaze and looked at the driver, Raph became instantly frightened when he saw the face. Raph quickly pressed on the gear and backed up from the person and came to a stop, Leo growled loudly and quickly stood up and angrily grabbed Raph by the scarf but softened his grab and stopped midway as he realized how scared Raph looked, Raph pointed at the person.

Leo glanced at the person and instantly noticed why Raph reacted the way he did when he saw the person. Leo's grip on Raph's scarf loosened slowly as he was shocked just as much as Raph was, "Dragor…?" Raph said, everyone became surprised and rushed over to look out the window and monitor. "That can't be Dragor… he doesn't even know where the final piece is located!" Donnie shouted, "Wait… that's not Dragor.." Kana stated as she squinted at the person, everyone turned their gaze at her in confusement.

Kana pointed at the person, "It's another Den Na' Vor. They're different, their skin is a redish orange, not blue. Plus, Dragor is more brutal, he would've flipped us over easily instead of letting us back away." Kana added as the Den Na' Vor moved their look away from them and walked off.

"So we have two to worry about now!?" Raph shouted as he glanced at Kana, Kana shrugged, "I don't know, by the looks of it, they didn't want to fight. They could be here for another reason…" She exclaimed as she tried to think. "Or they could be here helping Dragor!" Raph added angrily.

Leo growled angrily and grabbed Raph by the scarf and threw him back into the passenger seat, " We're not here to start trouble, we're here to find that last piece and get the hell out of here." Leo stated as he sat back down and raised the ram.

"That was uncalled for, Raph." Mikey stated as he glared at him, Raph angrily looked at Mikey and growled loudly, "Want a beat down again!?" He growled. Mikey yelped as he ran back to his spot and Casey followed letting out a sigh.

Leo continued to make his way into Mexico City. April, Kana and Donnie all three sat in a circle on the floor to discuss what just happened, "Do you think they're here for the final piece?" April questioned, "Most likely...otherwise why else would they be here?" Donnie added. Kana nodded, "Yeah...but I don't think they're here to help Dragor.." Donnie and April looked at Kana in confusement.

"What do you mean?" April questioned. Kana shrugged, "They didn't put up a fight, they could've easily flipped us over or threw us. And I saw their expression, it looked confused...and sad…" Both April and Donnie only gave her confused looks still, Kana sighed. "So you're saying they could be against Dragor?" Donnie asked as he tilted his head. "I mean, it's possible." Kana stated.

"There's only way to find out…" Kana began and stood up. April knew what she was getting at instantly, "No.. no way. No. You're more insane than Leo!" April shouted at her angrily. Leo glanced at them in confusement, Kana glared at him, "Pull over." Leo refused as he understood what was going on now, "Did you forget what kind of area we're in!?" April growled, Kana ignored her. "I said, Pull over!" Kana growled angrily at Leo.

Leo sighed and pulled over, he also opened the doors for her. Kana walked out the doors and peered back in, "If I'm not back in an hour, go on without me." She stated as she left. "Kana!" April shouted.

April angrily glared at Leo, "And I thought you were more persistent!" Leo only shrugged, "Why did you let her go!?" She questioned him angrily. "She has her own rights, we don't control her." Leo stated, April growled, "Still, or did you also forget what kind of place we are in, and how dangerous it is?"

Leo only gave April an unamused look, "I didn't forget. She can defend herself, and it was her choice." April sighed as Leo closed the doors, she sat back down next to Donnie who put a hand on her shoulder. "Great… more waiting and stops.." Raph growled lowly to himself.


	12. Chapter 12: The Search

**Chapter 12: The Search**

Kana had left the others parked decently far as she ran back to where the incident occured with the second Den Na' Vor. She stopped and put her hands on her knees as she lowered herself panting, "Man… I need to work out more.." She sighed as she stood up and glanced around.

Good thing it was morning by the time they arrived, it was easier to look around and see, but it was also very dangerous in this area. Tattered buildings everywhere, homeless people also everywhere along with a bunch of garbage and junk that laid around.

Kana glanced at the road and noticed the skid marks left from the vehicle in the dirt road, she then looked in the general direction the cloaked Den Na' Vor had walked off towards and she pursued in that direction.

Kana was grateful this place was mostly dirt pathways and roads, she could easily track the left footmarks in the dirt considering they were dragon like feet and not human.

Kana came to realize that no one has literally attempted to rob or mug her, or worse. It was very common here, but it hasn't happened, nor has she seen an incident since she arrived. Kana stood up from crouching after inspecting some footprints in the dirt and glanced around, it was quiet, too quiet.

Kana jumped at the sudden scream she heard directly ahead of her, it was a man's scream, not a girl and it confused her. She stood there as it was heard again but it sounded like it was from a different man, she glanced down and noticed the Den's footprints in that general direction as well.

Kana let out a sigh and gulped deeply as she was somewhat uncertain with the situation, but she proceeded and marched her way towards the screams. As she got closer and glanced down every now and then to keep track of the prints of the Den Na' Vor, sounds of fighting could be heard more easily. And she came to the conclusion that there was a gang fight going on.

Kana slowed down and glued herself to the wall of a building and peered around the corner to see what was happening, her reaction became a surprised one when she noticed many many men in a circle and the Den Na' Vor they encountered earlier was right in the center.

"I don't want any trouble." The Den Na' Vor stated as it glanced around at the men that circled them. "Well we do freak!" One of the men shouted and slammed a bat in his hand and started chuckling.

Kana let out an unamused look, 'They are so asking for it..' she thought to herself as she watched the incident before her eyes.

A bunch of men began to charge as many held weapons of some sort, whether it be bats, guns, knives, or even hard rocks and scraps picked up off the streets. The fight honestly ended quickly, the Den Na' Vor practically mauled all the men down without killing any of them, only one had a gun that was loaded but had no luck as a bullet couldn't pierce their scales.

The hood from the cloak they were wearing had fallen off towards the end when they knocked out the last man and collapsed to the ground, their skin was definitely a reddish orange. Kana walked her way out slowly from the corner of the building she was lurking at and towards the Den Na' Vor who put the hood back on.

Kana raised her hands slowly halfway as she slowly walked towards them, "You're a Den Na' Vor, aren't you?" Kana questioned as she stopped and stood nearby. The cloaked Den only stood and then turned slowly and looked at Kana and raised an eye, "How do you know my species name?" They questioned.

"I've studied the one other that had arrived here on this planet, and learned a bit. But you're a different one, one that doesn't want trouble and chaos. Am I wrong?" Kana asked as she lowered her hands, she was showing she didn't want any trouble, just answers.

"Hmmm, you may call me Xen. You must leave and stop studying us, lady." Xen stated as she fully turned to face Kana who had to look up at Xen considering Den Na' Vor were much larger and could change their height to blend in with the humans as well. "The name's Kana, not lady. And no, I won't. This other Den Na' Vor here is wanting chaos and is planning to bring forth an army to conquer our world and I want to stop that, but my question is, why are you here, I thought it was just Dragor." Kana stated as she glanced at all the unconscious men around her.

Xen glared at Kana slightly, "Dragor? You mean, Zono of the blue flamed Den Na' Vors." Xen said as she lowered herself to Kana's height, Kana only looked at Xen in slight surprise, "Zono is their real name? Blue skinned?" She questioned. Xen nodded, "All though I do like Dragor more, I served him once, many many decades ago." Xen began but then stopped.

Xen growled lowly as they had glanced at something behind Kana, Kana quickly turned around to see why. "April! Casey! What the hell are you two doing here!?" Kana shouted angrily as she noticed it was the two who stood panting slightly as they looked at Kana. "You… are not…" April began but had to stop to catch her breath from all the running around and searching. "You are not going alone. And by the looks of it, you found them…" April stated as she stood straight.

Kana reassured Xen that they were with her and were ok and not wanting trouble, Xen only snorted slightly as they didn't like the situation. "How many of you know about Dragor and his plans?" Xen questioned as she glared at mostly Kana. Casey started counting with his fingers but April and Kana answered quickly at the same time, "Seven." "Wait, what about the purple Dragons, and that rat, and my dad…?" Casey stated raising a few more fingers at them.

"Not all the purple dragons know, Casey. Just two of them, Jenna and the leader of the purple dragons, but yes, your dad knows and one other knows. So in total, eleven people that we know of at the moment. But I am sure there's a chance others might know as well?" April said as she moved her look to Casey and back at Xen.

Xen sighed, the situation and reason why they were here has gotten far worse than they had expected. "Is there somewhere private we can talk?" Xen asked with a somewhat sad expression on their face. Kana, April and Casey all looked at eachother worriedly and shrugged, "Yeah, if you're willing to come with us." Kana said, Xen nodded.

"MIKEY! I swear to god if you don't stop that loud ass chewing and munching of yours, I'll make sure you won't be able to eat snacks again!" Raph shouted as he jolted to look at Mikey who sat in the back munching on some chips and candy decently loud. Mikey only smiled and chewed quieter as he did innocently, Raph let out a small growl and just leaned back in the passenger seat once more.

Donnie was sitting on the small couch with his hands on his cheeks as he was pretty much bored of waiting, Leo sat criss crossed in the driver seat as he watched the monitors, Leo gave an unamused look as he noticed April and Casey bring back Kana with an unexpected guest as she waved at the camera for him to open the doors.

"You're that vehicle that attempted to run me over…" Xen said as she glanced at the Shellcharger is slight amazement. "Sorry about that, someone got cranky with the stopping and took over the wheel angrily and forcefully." April stated with an innocent smile. Leo opened the side doors for them and they entered as he quickly shut the doors behind them once they came in, "Dude, you brought them here!? Are you crazy!?" Raph shouted as he was on his knees peeking over the passenger seat.

"I'm guessing that's the cranky one?" Xen whispered asking April, April nodded with a small sob as she felt really bad for what Raph did. Leo glanced at April for a sign if this was ok as he trusted her considering she and Casey both came back with Kana and the Den Na' Vor, April noticed this instantly and nodded at him, showing that Xen seemed harmless and didn't want trouble.

Leo only sighed and turned himself to face them slightly, "Mind explaining then?" He questioned as his eyes were on Xen mostly and wanting answers from them. Casey sat next to Donnie on the couch and April and Kana both sat down next to each other in front of Xen and offered them to sit down as well with a smile.

Xen appreciated how nice all these people were as it was mostly trouble they've been getting into and having to avoid them, they sat down and curled their tail around their feet and let out a small sigh as they were also grateful with the situation. Considering Xen just met some new people, they decided to start from the beginning.

"You may all call me, Xen. As you all know, Zono, I mean, Dragor is attempting to mass world conquer your planet. His real name is Zono, Zono of the blue flamed Den Na' Vors, king of the blue skinned Flamed Den Na' Vors. He is extremely powerful in the most heated places, just as I am. And weaker in cooler places, just as I am. I am a female red flamed Den Na' Vor, and I use to serve beside Dragor. But he became very evil many many decades ago, he built an army of his own and destroyed our home planet. Many Den Na' Vors traveled on their own in the galaxy in search of a new home, a place to survive and thrive. We managed to find a new home, but only a few of us remained, when I got word of Zono attempting world conquer of another world, I came searching for him myself to put a stop to him and revenge for destroying my home and family." Xen explained.

"How did you guys get here… can you actually breathe in space and fly in it to get from planet to planet?" Kana questioned, Xen nodded, "We travel with our wings, we do not need ships or specific oxygen. We can breath anywhere, even in worlds with no air or oxygen like you people." Xen stated as she pointed at Kana.

"Ok, so you're here to kill Dragor, are you here specifically in this location looking for him, or the final teleporter piece?" April asked, Xen moved her look to April. "I am here to find the final piece of the teleporter and find a way to destroy it before he comes and takes it. I arrived here a week ago, and I am still learning how this world works. I knew Zono was after the teleporter for a while now, but I never expected it to be here on this planet." Xen stated with a small shrug.

"Wait, so the teleporter IS from your world!?" Raph questioned her, Xen nodded in agreement, "The teleporter was lost for generations, gone missing, was hidden by our special ancient scientists, but rumors and clues of it still existing and being hidden still lurked around. And many thought to find it and use it for evil or good, Zono has by far been the first to discover it, let alone almost all the pieces."

April put a hand to her chin as she thought and remember what Xen said earlier, "You said, find a way to destroy it. Does that mean it's unbreakable, undestroyable?" She questioned Xen as she looked up at her. Xen shrugged, "Indeed, the teleporter was built and made from the strongest of our elders scales and materials of our world. But like anything and everything, there is always someway of destroying that something."

"This final piece, what is it exactly?" Donnie asked. "The power source. It is a glowing gem full of overwhelming power in order for the teleporter to operate and be powered." Xen explained, "You must stay out of this and let me handle Zono, we are too strong for you, we can kill you easily." Xen stated worriedly. April only smiled as schooched her way closer to Xen and grabbed Xen's hand as she smiled at her, "We're not going to sit around and let you do this alone, this is our planet and we want to protect it from chaos too, let us help you." April said with ease in her voice, Xen looked down at April with surprise but also appreciation.

Xen liked the comfort April was giving her from the softness of her voice and willingness of wanting to help, Xen also noticed everyone else smiling at her as they all agreed with April and showed that they did with nods. Xen began to form tears and smiled, "No one has ever been this kind to me since the war." April felt bad and gave Xen a hug who returned it, Xen was extremely grateful.

"Just because you're a different species doesn't mean we will take you differently, many might see the Den Na' Vors as evil overwhelmingly strong creatures, but just like us, our own worst enemy is our own species, or even ourselves." Leo stated as he pointed at Xen reassuring her that they accepted her for who she was, not because of her species and what Dragor has done. "Don't judge a book by it's cover." Mikey said as he smiled at her and munched on a chip.

Xen smiled at all them and wiped away her happy tears, "Fine, you may proceed to help. It won't be easy…" Xen said with slight worry. April chuckled, "We knew already it wasn't going to be. We don't even know where to begin here… Are you able to like sniff it out or something?" April asked.

Xen lowered her head sadly and shook her head, "Sadly no, there are no clues or directions on where this power gem is directly located." "So we don't know, you don't know, no one knows, so it's official that Dragor doesn't know either… great. Why don't we just leave it hidden then?" Raph questioned. "He will not stop searching for it, he has spent decades researching it and finding out where it was hidden, and spent many days gathering the pieces. It would be best if we came across it and got our hands on it first before he does and find a way to destroy it for good." Xen stated.

"Great." Raph growled and sat back angrily. "So, these scientists hid it because there was no way to destroy it?" April questioned, Xen moved her look to April and nodded, "The elders had no time to figure a way to destroy it as many many were attempting to take it away and use it for their own purposes of evil, so they all flew to a new world to hide it which is this world, many of the elders have passed away except…" Xen came to realization and became excited which confused everyone.

"Except one! His name is Marwin, he was the one who actually hid the power source gem. I heard he rests somewhere here on this planet watching and protecting it." Xen stated with excitement. "So we have a resting dragon here in Mexico!? You're kidding, right…" Casey said, "He could be anywhere, this place is huge and full of millions of people, how can he hide here, let alone rest? And how exactly long can you guys live…?" Kana asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We can live for thousands of years, Marwin is an earth Den Na' Vor-" Xen began but was cut off by Mikey and Casey. "Wait, earth!? Mikey, are you thinking what I am thinking!?" Casey quickly shouted and turned to Mikey with excitement, Mikey smiled and nodded and they both turned to face the others, "We know where to find him!" they both said. "I officially feel scared now…" Donnie stated as he lowered his head into his scarf.

"One of our games earlier took place in Mexico City, they made Mexico the exact same for an open world game. Downtown in a park, there was a dragon statue that looked exactly like you guys." Casey stated as he looked at Xen, Xen lowered her head sadly, April turned to look at her and tilted her head, "What's the matter? Is it him?" Xen nodded slightly, "When an earth dragon turns to stone fully, it's normally them passing away in their sleep."

Everyone looked sad from the sudden explanation regarding Marwin, "Well, the park clears at night, good thing Downtown isn't that populated like the city itself, it's the only lead we have so we might as well go check it out." Kana stated with a serious look as she glanced at everyone.

Kana was correct about it being the only lead they had, They drove closer to downtown before waiting until dark, April and Kana got out to go buy some food, everyone pretty much rested and took a nap until dark hit. It was approximately almost nine at night when everyone finally woke up, Leo didn't get much sleep due to Raph's loud snoring, same with April and Kana.

Leo drove and pulled up next to the park and powered off the Shellcharger and crossed his arms as he sat back. The park was pretty much silent, completely empty and no one was in sight nearby, it kinda worried Leo with how dead it seemed to be, so he kept his guard up.

Everyone exited the vehicle and stretched, Donnie was at the front of the Shellcharger as he leaned over the hood and rubbed his hand on the broken window where the piercing bullet went through. "Come on, Donnie! You can fix it when we get back home!" Raph shouted at him as the others were already decently far from the vehicle.

The dragon statue that was said to be here from the idiots was here after all, it was huge and standed out the most as it was almost directly in the center of the park. Xen was already fast walking towards it, when Xen reached it and faced it she placed a hand on the statue and rested her forehead on it.

"Elder Marwin." Xen said lowly in respect as the others approached her, "So it is him?" Kana asked, Xen nodded as she backed away slowly and looked up at him. "He has rested here for centuries on end. Just like our scales, he is still protected even within being stone, the stone is like his scales still, he will not break or rot away." Xen stated with a sad tone to her voice, "People must think he's just a carved out statue." Kana said.

"Is there any kind of motion he is doing that you understand that directs us, like some way of pointing?" April questioned as she glanced at Xen. Xen stood and looked up at Marwin and also glanced around to see but shook her head sadly, everyone pretty much sighed sadly.

Leo glanced around at Marwin and walked around away from the group and placed his hand on the statue as he walked, he wasn't sure what he was doing aside from searching, one piece of the statue in particular grasped his attention as he stopped and glanced at it and raised an eye as he did.

April noticed Leo was gone, she glanced around and realized he was on the other end of the statue and walked towards him in confusement. She peered around the other end of the statue and at Leo, "Leo!?" April lowly shouted, Leo jumped in surprise as he quickly looked at her.

"Jeez, you need to stop doing that…" Leo sighed, April approached him and raised an eyebrow, "What? Jump scaring you? Maybe stay more alert." April stated with an unamused look as she was serious.

"Sorry… something's just bothering me…" Leo said as he glanced up at the statue, he placed his hand on the one part that seemed off to him, and once he did it suddenly broke off. Both Leo and April were shocked as he lowered his hand with the part in it and both stared at it, "That's impossible… Xen said he is unbreakable…" April stated in shocked confusement.

"Impossible." A voice came from behind them, it was Xen and the others who came on over. "That's what I said!" April stated as she pointed at herself, the stone crumbled away in Leo's hand as the others gathered near him to see, a glowing gem appeared once all the stone broke off and fell to the grass. April gave an unamused look at the gem, "I knew it." She remarked.

Leo was very confused and surprised as he peered at the others who were amazed and shocked at the same time, Leo moved the gem to the point of holding it with two fingers and showed it to Xen, "This the power gem?" he questioned her.

Xen's eyes were wide with surprise, but she nodded in agreement. Leo tossed the gem to her who caught it and held in both her hands and glanced down at it with sadness. "Oh Marwin… he infused the gem into his scales… but how did you…?" Xen stated and began with confusement as she looked up at Leo. "Only our own kind or something or someone stronger can break us." Xen remarked.

April jumped excitedly and giggled as she hugged Leo and shook him a bit, "You really are a chosen one, aren't ya!" She laughed happily. Leo only gave an unamused expression, "Again… still too many unknowns." Leo growled lowly.

Everyone jumped at the sudden loud bang they all heard, everyone glanced in the general direction it came from. They all noticed a red and orange mix glow in the distance and tons of smoke, it was an explosion, and a large one at that.

Kana quickly looked at Xen, "Do you think he's here?" she questioned. Xen growled lowly, "It's possible. He enjoys destruction on a large scale." Xen stated as she quickly glanced at everyone, "We must leave, now!" Everyone quickly started running back to the Shellcharger, the explosion wasn't too far off at all, and there was a high chance it was Dragor here finally and searching for the power gem.

April came to a sudden stop and glanced behind her, Leo noticed this and stopped as well. Kana stayed put next to Marwin where they all were previously standing, "Kana!?" April shouted worriedly. Kana moved her look from the statue to April and waved, "You guys go ahead, I'm going to stick around. I'll give you a call in awhile, April! I have your number, don't worry!" Kana shouted at her as she waved with a small smile.

Leo stopped and grabbed April as she attempted to go back to Kana, April hated this as she got along very well with Kana and she felt like an older sister she has never had closely. April knew she was staying to attempt to talk to Dragor when he arrived searching for the gem, Dragor was a cold ruthless beast and a killer and knowing the chances, she wasn't going to receive a call later on.


	13. Chapter 13: The Waiting Game

**Chapter 13: The Waiting Game**

Kana had refused to return and follow with the others as an unsuspected explosion occurred not too far off from the park, they all suspected it was Dragor causing trouble and chaos as he most likely finally arrived and figured out the final piece for the teleporter was somewhere here in Mexico that the gang already had in their possession.

Leo had to force April back to the Shellcharger where Raph was leaning and waiting for them at the side doors and helped them in. Donnie took over the wheel and powered on the vehicle quickly, Xen glanced around at everyone as April fell to her knees crying a bit and having Leo comfort her.

"Where is the other girl?" Xen questioned in confusement as she tended to take a liking to Kana. "She's not coming." Leo stated with a sad tone, Xen only lowered her head sadly and stared at the gem in her hands. Xen felt bad for having innocent people get involved with Dragor's evil devious deeds, but it also amazed her how these people she currently was with showed no intentions of ignoring the possible destruction plans that Dragor was attempting in order to save their world, especially when she could not with her own world from his destruction.

Xen clutched the gem in her hand and gave an angry expression, she vowed to herself she would put a stop to Dragor even if it killed her, she was tired of his evil and killing.

Donnie began to drive off and away from the park quickly, they were headed straight back to New York to get back home and find a way to destroy that power source gem.

Xen glanced at Leo as she sat down and relaxed her hands on her lap, "You must have elder bloodline in you." Xen stated directing it at Leo. Leo peered over his shoulder at her and only gave her a confused look, "Elder Bloodline? You mean the Elder Dragons? I'm a turtle… not a dragon…" Leo said confusing even himself, Xen only smiled and chuckled lightly which left Leo even more confused. "Elder Blood, you're not born with it silly, it gets put into you from elder dragons. Elders rarely choose to transfer their blood to someone else in order for that someone else to be able to defeat and be in relation with our species." Xen said as she pointed at him, "The gem reacted to your touch." Xen added trying to make sense for him. Leo thought for a second, "I don't remember such an occurrence… aside from the mutagen that turned us to what we are now."

Xen glared at him slightly, "Mutagen?" "Weird green looking ooze that turns living things into mutants by the touch." Leo stated as he pointed at himself when remarking the word, mutants.

Xen placed a hand under her chin as she thought, "It's possible elder blood is mixed in with it and may be why you have it and can correspond with us, but elder blood in a way also has a mind of its own and will choose if it accepts you or not." Xen said as she looked up and smirked at him, Leo was confused from the expression she gave him.

April was practically clinging to Leo as he and Xen talked, she was still really upset and sad but she managed to stop crying and listen in. Leo had suddenly and quickly moved a hand off her and turned, this spooked her as she jolted upward slightly to see why.

Xen threw an attack at Leo who stopped it, she was testing him. Xen attempted to throw a swipe attack with her hand but Leo had quickly seen it coming and grabbed her wrist, stopping the attack midway.

Xen smiled at him and let loose, Leo was only confused but knew she was testing him. "I put quite a bit of strength into that too, you still stopped it. Which means, you do have Elder blood in you. And it clearly accepts you." Xen stated as she sat back, "Wait, in a way does it mean he's like a chosen one or something? And how old are and rare are these elders?" April questioned.

Xen laughed, "Chosen one? Not entirely, but in a way, yes. Like I said, the elder dragons choose someone, they don't just randomly pick and grab someone and just say oh here, take my blood. And we are not considered an elder dragon until we live past five thousand years, elder dragons are marked as extremely powerful and wise dragons, it is rare for us to live past five thousand years. And like you said blue one, you all were turned into what you are now by some mutagen, so there's a chance the others here also have elder blood."

"His name is Leo, not blue one." April stated seriously, "How old exactly is Marwin?" April added as she was curious. Xen tilted her head trying to remember, "Almost six thousand years, maybe seven…?" Raph let out a laugh and marched over to Xen, "Is that so? Throw a hit at me then, let's test it!" Raph growled happily.

Xen only raised an eye but shrugged, she threw a hit with the same strength, Raph attempted to stop or block it but unlike Leo, it failed. Raph was slapped on the cheek and fell to the floor with a small thud, he quickly recovered and had a red hand mark on his cheek. Mikey and Casey both died laughing as they pointed at him, "Big bad tough Raph got slapped!" Casey laughed as he fell back.

Leo and April both couldn't help but to also let out a small chuckle as he pretty much deserved it. Xen only looked at Raph with a worried look, "You told me to…" Raph growled and marched towards Casey and grabbed him by the cheeks and squeezed them outward, "Ow Ow Ow! Ok! Im sorry!" Casey yelped.

"So how strong are these elder dragons of your species?" April questioned as she glanced back at Xen, "Oh they are much stronger than me and Dragor, but as I remarked, they are very rare as they tend to keep distance and hide away, they rest their last days away in slumber usually. Marwin is an exception, he chose to stay awake and active to protect the gem, I'm thinking Marwin willingly either chose to give his blood to someone for that mutagen you talk about, or his blood was extracted somehow by force before he passed away. That or it's from another elder dragon that was here, or Leo must've somehow got elder blood put into him at some point with remembering." Xen stated with a small sad tone as she lowered her head, considering there was more to this elder dragon puzzle.

"Guys…" Donnie began with a worried tone, everyone glanced at him in confusement. "It...is Dragor." Donnie added as he pointed at one of the monitors, everyone stood and came rushing over to see except Xen and Leo.

The monitor captured Dragor in the air not too far off, he was flying around, searching. "Do you think he's searching for us?" Mikey questioned as he tilted his head, "No way, he doesn't even know what our vehicle looks like, let alone that we have a vehicle." Raph growled slapping Mikey upside the back of the head. "He's more closing in the direction towards the park we were at, he's probably looking for Marwin." Donnie stated as he pressed on the gas more to speed up and farther away and quickly out of Mexico.

April backed up a bit as the others still watched the monitor, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and only stared at it sadly. April felt a hand on her shoulder and she glanced up, it was Leo who gave her a small smile. Xen had also walked on over to comfort her as she stood directly behind Leo also giving a smile, April sighed and smiled as well and put the phone away, even if Kana chose to stay behind and felt like a sister, she still had everyone else who was right in front of her to appreciate more and that were still here.

It took about forty hours to reach back to New York, April still has not received a call since they left Mexico, and Kana. Donnie drove into an alley after reaching further into the city, everyone was exhausted and worn out from the trip and with all that had gone down. The wall in the alley opened up and Donnie drove right through as it led down into the sewers and closed the wall as soon as they went in.

Everyone was pretty much passed out and asleep except Donnie, Raph and Mikey. Donnie flipped a switch to his right that opened the garage door to his lab, he pulled in slowly and parked and fell back into the seat with a tired sigh as he powered off the Shellcharger.

"Man, it's good to be home." Raph yawned as he stretched, Donnie opened the side doors as Raph was the first to walk out. "My sons." A voice came from the door of the lab, Raph glanced up as he exited the vehicle, "Sensai!" Mikey shouted with excitement as he pushed Raph to the side and ran towards Splinter giving him a hug.

Splinter put one hand on Mikey and smiled, "How was your trip?" Raph yawned, "Full of excitement." He stated with a tired expression. "I'm going to bed." Raph said as he walked past Splinter and Mikey and out the lab with a wave, Donnie approached out the side door and glanced up noticing Splinter.

Donnie gave a smile, "Where is Leo, April and Casey?" Splinter questioned as Mikey moved and stood to the side. "Sleeping, best to let them, they hardly got any the past two days." Donnie stated as he walked up to Splinter, Donnie glanced at Mikey and gave a small smile, "Me and Mikey will tell you all about the trip." Donnie said as he moved his smile from Mikey to Splinter.

Splinter walked next to Donnie and turned, placing a hand on his back and they all three walked out of the lab to have a conversation out in the living area.

Xen shot upward with a tired look on her face, she glanced around noticing she fell asleep in the vehicle, she also noticed that Leo was passed out on the couch and April and Casey were also asleep on the floor. Xen noticed they had arrived as they were parked and not moving, and the others were gone as well.

Xen stood up with a small stretch and walked to the open side door and stood in it and glanced around at the lab, the lab interested her as she did love to learn and investigate, especially regarding this new world she had recently arrived in. Xen had a smile on her face and suddenly dropped when she heard talking outside the door of the lab, she slowly stepped down and exited the vehicle and walked towards the door.

Xen peered out the doors and noticed Mikey and Donnie talking to a giant rat as they all sat on the couch except for Mikey who was sitting on the floor in front of them. Splinter quickly noticed Xen and instantly stood up in surprise because of the unexpected guest, and because Xen matched the description of Dragor that the turtles told him about.

Donnie glanced and followed his look up towards Splinter in confusement, he turned his look to where Splinter was directing his, "Xen, you're awake." Donnie said with a soft tone to reassure Splinter she was ok. Donnie was just about to get to the part and tell Splinter about Xen before she showed herself and alerted him.

Donnie scratched his chin lightly and smiled, "I was just about to tell you about her, she's with us, she wants to stop Dragor as well." Splinter only squinted and glared at Xen lightly and sat back down unamused, Xen tried to show respect that she wanted to not cause any harm and quickly grabbed the gem from her cloak pocket and showed it.

Donnie noticed this and pointed at the gem, "Dragor is after that, so me and her are gonna try and find a way to destroy it." "He wants it for this, teleporter? Correct?" Splinter questioned as he directed his attention back at Donnie who nodded in agreement.

Splinter stood to his feet and glanced at Xen, "Xen, was it?" Xen slowly stood up straight and lowered the gem slowly as well as she looked towards Splinter, Xen nodded her head. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you need." Splinter reassured her as he lifted his cane and turned away and walked towards the dojo to go to bed as well, Splinter could easily tell that Xen meant no harm as she has had many chances to take action if she really meant harm to his family.

Xen was confused as she looked at Donnie as Splinter left, Mikey just sat on the floor the whole time smiling. Donnie glanced at Xen and shrugged, "Well you heard him, if you want, we can get started on that gem?" Donnie stated as he pointed at the gem in her hands.

Xen glanced down at the gem in her hands and back up at Donnie giving a smile and nodded her head, she wanted to find a way to destroy it as fast as possible considering Dragor would not cease his search for it until he got his hands on it.

A few days have passed since they arrived back to New York, everyone was pretty much stuck at the liar and Adam had Casey stay with the turtles and April due to his work becoming occupied recently and unable to be home often.

April sat on the couch with the TV on as a random show was just playing, she was staring at her phone as she has not received a call at all since they left Mexico regarding Kana, nor from her parents and she started to become very worried.

Raph and Casey had left the lair a second time to get some fresh air but to also go buy some food, Donnie and Xen were in the lab still figuring out and experimenting ways to destroy the gem considering they had no luck so far, Mikey was playing on one of the gaming machine, attempting to beat Leo's high score.

Splinter like always was in the dojo either meditating or watching TV in his room within the dojo. It was pretty much a waiting game now.

April fell back on the couch with a sigh and almost began to fall asleep when her phone suddenly began to ring, she instantly shot up and answered not even bothering to look at the number to see who it was.

Leo was in the kitchen grabbing some snacks and walked out slowly as he noticed April finally received a call from someone, he then stopped as he also noticed April's face wasn't a happy one.

April lowered the phone slowly after she had it at her ear and talked, she was holding back tears and she decided to just stand up and walk out of the lair after hanging up and throwing the phone on the couch.

Leo stood watching April exit as he munched on half a chip and then glanced at Mikey as he let out a large sob of losing the game. Leo munched the other half of the chip as he decided to follow April to see what was wrong.

April had walked to a different tunnel away from the lair and chose a corner to sit at and droop down into her arms and knees, she held back her crying but it still came out slightly.

April heard footsteps approaching her and she lifted her head slightly to see, she noticed it was Leo who waved the bag of chips he was munching on at her. He leaned back against the wall next to April and tossed a chip into his mouth, "Want some?" Leo asked her as he peered at her from the corner of his eyes.

April glanced up at the chips then at Leo, over the few days that had passed, she has gotten the chance to train with him and Splinter while Donnie and Xen worked on the gem and because of Dragor, leaving the liar was practically forbidden unless supplies were needed otherwise.

April has also gotten the chance to talk with Splinter about the turtles and himself as he would tell a few stories as well about them. April remembered one thing that Splinter told her about Leo, was the fact he always wanted a sister and being with his brothers all the time always impacted him, not just because they were all boys, but the fact he was leader and had to always carry the burden for practically everything.

April gave him a soft smile, Leo only looked at her with a confused expression, "You've always wanted a sister, huh?" April remarked. Leo almost choked on a chip that he was chewing from what she said, he coughed once and stood up straight and moved his look away from April.

"Splinter told you, didn't he?" Leo questioned as he still did not look at her. April tucked part of her face back into arms, "Yeah…" Leo only sighed, "I haven't told anyone about that, only Splinter knew because I accidentally blurted it out in front of him when I was a kid. Not even my brothers know."

April turned her head slightly to face look at him and gave a confused look as she did, "Why haven't you told them?" Leo looked at April and gave another sigh as he sat down, "Because I don't want them to think I don't love them, and would rather choose a sister over them."

April remembered what Leo had told her on the balcony that day Jenna arrived at her apartment and attempted to send someone to kill Leo and Mikey who chose to protect her at the time, and in a result to that, Leo got his right arm injured but also stated she was considered family to them now over one choice she made to this day.

April was extremely grateful for meeting the turtles, though she never expected such an early turn of events on her first life experience. She didn't regret proceeding the incident in the alley that day at all and pursuing the turtles back down the sewer, she was mostly grateful that Leo chose to introduce himself, risking his exposure to help her when she twisted her ankle that one day.

If she hadn't met the turtles, she would be stuck at her apartment, cleaning, trying to find a job she would most likely hate and like always, never take the action into making friends. The turtles were more than just friends to her now, the fact they have done so much for her made her cherish them, as brothers. They were her family now.

April started crying again and this surprised Leo as he wasn't expecting it to happen so soon, but he noticed it was more of a happy grateful crying as she looked at him. Leo only looked at her confusingly, unsure what to do and wasn't sure if it was something he said that started to make her burst out crying again.

April knew he was full on in confusement with how much she tended to cry over little things lately, she also then began remembering the call she had received earlier and it broke her more.

Donnie let out a large sigh as he fell back in his chair, "This is getting nowhere! Maybe Leo could be of use if we tested his blood?" Donnie questioned, Xen covered her face with an arm as another experiment failed and caused a small explosion, she let out a small cough. "Testing his blood won't solve anything with this gem. He doesn't have full elder blood in him, so if you think that would help, it wouldn't. Not even the elders knew how to destroy it." Xen stated as she waved the smoke out of her face.

"Full elder blood?" Donnie questioned her as he sat up tilting his head. Xen moved her gaze towards Donnie, "Giving our blood to someone normally enhances their abilities and strength, whether it be physically, mentally, or spiritually. And in Leo's case, it seems to accept him both physically and spiritually, giving too much blood to someone though will normally kill them as our blood is a different bloodline compared to you mortals, that's why only Elders are capable of transferring their blood to someone else to give them those abilities."

"What would happen if a non elder gave someone blood?" Donnie asked her, Xen shrugged, "Depends on the amount of blood, but if we gave someone our blood, it would be like poison to you and slowly kill you or not. Or it might not have any effect at all." "Ok, what if someone who had elder blood in them got non elder blood transferred into them? Would it still poison them?" Donnie questioned as he blinked, becoming intrigued with this info about the Den Na' Vors.

Xen put a hand to her chin to remember for a second, "Well, take Leo for example. He only has half elder blood in him, so he can still have a chance of beating a Den Na' Vor, but that chance is low considering half's are uncommon, if anything they're good for blocking or holding us back rather than defeating and/or killing us. But if he got injected with say my blood, whether it be a small amount or medium, it wouldn't affect him honestly because of the elder blood being more powerful, half or not. But if he got injected with a large amount, then yeah, the poison would take effect and slowly kill him without treatment."

Donnie sighed and leaned back in the chair, "What's the treatment for it?" "Same blood type transfer, or more elder blood injected." Xen stated as she moved her gaze back at the gem on the table. Donnie let out another sigh as he stared at his computer monitors, "Your species sure are intriguing."

April took action without really realizing it until it happened but had no regrets towards it, she had jumped at Leo who was sitting next to her and hugged him while she was still crying. The sudden action surprised Leo, she was full of surprises and he knew this but still couldn't get used to it.

"The call…" April sobbed, Leo moved his surprised forward gaze to look at her and became a confused one, "It was the police…. My parents… died in an explosion… at the farmhouse…" April sobbed weakly.

Leo's eyes widened, 'explosion…' Leo thought for a second and came to realization as he remembered the incident back in Mexico. "Ap-" Leo began but was cut off as he and April both jolted in surprise and quickly faced the direction of the liar.

A loud crash was heard, and smoke had literally reached the tunnel they were in, the crash came from the liar, and based on what Leo was seeing just in a tunnel away, it was a very large scale crash of something that happened. 'Maybe another one of Donnie's experiments? No, too large...' Leo thought before he took action, "Stay here!" Leo growled at April as he knew how persistent she was.

Leo quickly stood up and ran back towards the liar, April gave a weak whimper and wiped away her tears, she gave a small growl not liking being told what to do and stood up and proceeded towards following Leo back to the liar.

Leo slid into the entrance of the liar and then glanced behind him as he heard April following, he only growled lowly and looked back into the liar as he and April noticed the wreckage, someone or something had crashed through the roof from the streets, literally.

Mikey was on the end of the entrance as he was behind the gaming machine in sudden shock, Donnie and Xen rushed out of the lab and stood at the entrance while Splinter had also come out of the dojo and stood at the entrance to see what had happened.

"Found you." A dark deep voice came from the crashed rubble, the smoke that surrounded almost the entire liar slowly faded away and everyone became surprised except Xen who growled deeply, "Dragor…"


	14. Chapter 14: Infiltration

**Chapter 14: Infiltration**

It was complete silence as a standoff was happening between practically everyone and Dragor who suddenly made an appearance. All that could be heard was the smoke clearing and the debris falling from the ceiling, and the growling from Xen that slowly intensified.

April and Leo both glanced up, he literally crashed his way through the rubble and into the sewers, this showed exactly how powerful this guy was. "How did you find us!" Xen growled angrily as she removed her cloak and grew in size, landing on all fours and spreading her wings that grew out from her back. "And what did you do to Kana!" April added.

Xen moved to the side a bit and in front of Donnie, protecting him. Mikey had made his way towards Splinter, Leo had also become defensive and protected April.

Dragor smirked as he stood on two's and directed his attention towards April, "Kana? Ohhh, you mean that girl at the park? Yes yes, now I remember." Dragor began but had started laughing loudly and moved his gaze to Xen.

His smirk became wider than ever, "Xen! My old companion and friend! I never expected you to be here! I see you're helping these mortals!" He laughed, Xen bared her fangs and raised her wings in defense, showing him he wasn't wrong as she protected Donnie. "I am, NOT your companion or friend no longer, not after what you have become and done to our home! Now answer our questions!" Xen raised her head and snarled.

Dragor let out a small sigh and dropped down on all fours, but suddenly made an attempted dart directly at Xen and Donnie, Xen saw this coming and quickly put strength into her back legs and darted at him and the two clashed into one another midway, Xen had managed to stop Dragor and slam him into the ground.

Dragor let out an angry roar and swiped at Xen who jumped back, he then leaped at her and dodged an attempted claw swipe attack from her, grabbing her and slamming her into the ground as well, keeping her pinned as she struggled to get free.

Dragor smirked once again and directed his attention towards Leo and April, Leo attempted to run in and help Xen, he had come to the conclusion he was capable of holding back and blocking a Den Na' Vor's strength, but not being able to defeat one because of the result to his cracked sword.

Leo didn't have his weapons with him, nor did Mikey or Donnie. Leo had suddenly collapsed midway as he attempted to go assist Xen, this surprised April as he collapsed and was on his knees and using his hands as support and struggled to stand, April rushed towards him and slid next to him.

Dragor had started laughing again, "Can't have the blue boy helping out!" April looked at Dragor in confusement, he had planned something for Leo because he most likely knew Leo had elder blood in him and could falter his plans.

April glanced down at Leo whose head was dropped down as he was panting slightly as if tired and out of breath. She noticed something in his shoulder and quickly pulled it out, it was a small dart. 'Poison?' She thought, April glanced around quickly and noticed a small drone that had fired the dart, it quickly flew out of the lair as her gaze followed it.

April turned the dart around a few times, 'No, it was a tranq.' She came to the conclusion, if it was poison, his condition would've been showing worse symptoms, especially with how fast it made him drop, it was most likely a somewhat powerful tranq and he was still managing to stay awake.

"Now, about that girl and how I found this place." Dragor began as he glared at April who looked at him as she held Leo with worry. Dragor then grew a small smirk on his face as he still held Xen down who had stopped struggling a bit to hear him out, "She was quite delicious if I do say so myself, she did attempt to talk to me about how evil my plans were. But you know what, I do not care what you see." Dragor laughed.

"First I got information from her, then that Jenna girl, then your beloved O'neil parents at some stupid farmhouse, and then some officer and followed his child. They wouldn't tell me where you were specifically, so I had to force it out of them one by one, and you all have something I need." Dragor growled angrily as his gaze moved back down at Xen.

Xen's expression became a surprised one, she had gotten along with Kana, Kana was the one who had decided to confront her and accept her, let alone believe her that she herself was here to assist, not kill like the beast in front of her. "You didn't...lies…" Xen sobbed slightly.

Dragor chuckled menacingly, "Oh I did, the moment she mentioned the gem was already gone, that's when I took action. Now, where is the gem!" Dragor growled angrily, Xen let out a angry roar and kicked Dragor off of her, she quickly recovered to her feet and charged at him, Dragor slid back from the sudden kick and quickly jolted to face her but she was already head first ramming her way at him before he could react.

Xen's head was lowered and her horns were up, she rammed into Dragor and sent him crashing into a wall. She stood chest out with a large snarl, "I will not allow you to harm these nice people! No more harm will come from you!" Xen slammed her tail into the ground as she growled angrily.

April was attempting to hold back her tears as she fell limp slightly full of sadness as she still held Leo, she was still gazing out where Dragor last was pinning Xen as she was lost in thought. First Kana, Jenna, then her parents, a officer which she came to the conclusion was Adam, Dragor must've kept watch over Casey and Raph when they went out and followed them back here when they returned before leaving the lair a second time to get supplies.

April was drowning in sadness and regret, she has lost her loved one's, the people she cared about and knew since she was a little girl, she lost her home, her apartment...

April's eyes started to stream with tears, but she jolted in surprise as she snapped out of her thoughts from a sudden touch. She gazed down and noticed it was Leo, he placed a hand on her heart and only looked at her with his tired eyes, head still down slightly.

"Kana….Jenna… Adam… the O'neils… they'll always… be with you in heart and soul, so long as you…. Remember them…" Leo said weakly. April only sobbed and hugged him, she may have lost the people she has known since she was a little girl, but she had also developed a new family, new people to care about, new people to appreciate, to care for, to live for, they have already provided her a place to call home.

Leo could hardly move at all, he felt numb, way too drowsy and light headed, the tranq was definitely a strong one and he didn't know how he was still capable of staying awake himself, any normal person would've been knocked out by now. Dragor must've had someone controlling the drone, ready to fire when Leo was about to take action, now everyone knew why Dragor feared Leo, and they knew he still did, especially if he were to assist Xen.

Dragor had planned ahead, he was not just powerful, but also smart. Considering Leo was down for the count, he just let April comfort and hug him as she sobbed, he was pretty much doing the same for her as she had lost loved one's and was completely devastated.

Dragor crashed his way out of the rubble from the wall after being thrown, he stood on his hind legs and let out a menacing roar at Xen, Splinter and Mikey stayed out of the fight as they knew they didn't have a chance, this included Donnie as he backed up into his lab and ran inside.

Donnie glanced around for the gem and remember it was placed on the table. Xen roared back at Dragor and the two rushed each other and clashed with one another once again, Dragor smacked Xen with his tail which sent her to the ground slightly, he grabbed her by the throat strongly and swung her around.

Xen cried out in pain, but took action, she grasped her front and hind claws onto him, and wrapped her tail around his right hind leg and yanked it off the ground, causing him to lose balance and let go of her throat.

Xen used one of her arms and force slammed him into the ground, causing debris to fly from the impact. She quickly also bit down into his upper shoulder and neck greatly, Dragor cried out immensely as Xen ripped a chunk of his skin and scales off, causing blood to quickly rush out.

Dragor wiggled around aggressively attempting to break free, he finally became much more pissed as his throat began to light up a red glow. Xen noticed this and attempted to slam his face into the ground to prevent and stop his breath attack, but failed. Dragor grabbed Xen by the neck with his tail and yanked her off of him, he threw her to the side and he instantly recovered to his feet as he did and directed his attack at her.

He quickly blasted out a fire breath attack at her, Xen didn't have time to react as she had to recover from the previous attack, she quickly also did a fire breath attack and stop his midway but Dragor had already countered it and was already beside her, Xen quickly looked beside her and she instantly had a surprised look on her face as Dragor's face was directly in her own with a wide smirk on his.

Dragor used a massive amount of strength and rammed his forward horns into her shoulder, causing her to cry out greatly and be sent flying into the wall.

Xen didn't recover as she was knocked out from the impact, blood rushed from her shoulder after being pierced by his horns. Dragor chuckled weakly, Xen worn him out immensely but he didn't stop, but he knew he had to retreat, he glanced at the lab and remembered that Xen and that turtle had come from it, which must mean they must've been working on the gem in there.

Dragor panted heavily and coughed up some blood as he used up too much strength, he was weak, the sewers were a cold place. Splinter was about to take action as he noticed how weak Dragor seemed to be but was stopped by Mikey who looked up at Splinter with a worried look and shook his head telling him not to. Mikey had remembered what Kana said, Den Na' Vor's were still strong even if they showed weakness and were still in their weak environments.

Leo attempted to stand once more but couldn't, but he was also forced back down by April who only clung to him, she was sick of losing people and she didn't want Leo to go fight in his condition. Leo glanced at April worriedly, she only shook her head as she still cried, Leo understood this, but there was no one else here who could most likely finish Dragor off.

Leo moved his look back towards Dragor and became surprised a bit as he noticed Dragor glaring at him with a smirk on his face as he swung his tail aggressively and then turned and walked towards the lab. 'Donnie….' Leo thought, giving a worried expression, Leo already had a hand on April's arm that was wrapped around his neck, he clutched her arm tightly as he glared down at the floor, "Damn..!" Leo growled weakly showing anger, he hated how pathetic he looked from a stupid dart that had greatly weakened him.

Dragor entered the entrance of the lair, he glanced back quickly and noticed everyone else stood still, they knew they didn't stand a chance against him, even in his weakened state.

Dragor got a surprised look on his face as he noticed Donnie, Donnie stood right by his monitors with the gem in hand as he glared at Dragor. Dragor noticed he had a remote in his other hand, he quickly took action knowing the turtle had something planned, he quickly darted at Donnie, Donnie didn't have time to react, Dragor grabbed Donnie by the scarf and also grabbed the gem from his hand and threw him to the side.

Donnie crashed to the ground with a roll but recovered as he quickly gazed up at Dragor. Dragor gazed at the gem in his hand with a large smile, he started to let out a large laugh but stopped as he heard a voice.

"Hope you like piercing and .700 Nitro Express rounds, freak." Donnie said angrily as he raised the remote in his hand that he still had and pressed a button, Dragor glared at him in confusement, the Shellchargers minigun on top raised from the roof and turned facing Dragor and the barrel began to spin.

Dragor noticed this and stared at it in confusement, but he knew it was a gun as he already encountered many of those. "Foolish turtle, do you really think-" Dragor began but was cut off as the gun began to fire, the bullets actually hurt, they actually hurt him, Dragor let out a cry of pain as he jolted back and raised his arms in front of his face attempting to block them but it also hurt his arms as well.

Donnie pressed another button and purposely aimed the gun at his injured shoulder as it was still rushing with blood, the bullets pierced through his already opened wound as he didn't have scales there to protect it, Dragor cried out loudly and quickly turned around, gem still in hand as he would not let it go even in the amount of pain he was in. He crashed out of the lab and spread his wings as he cried out, he jolted upward from where he previously came crashing into in order to enter the lair and flew out the way he came in.

Donnie came and stood at the entrance as almost everyone looked up as Dragor left, Donnie slammed his fist against the door of the lab angrily, "Damn! He managed to get the gem, he wouldn't drop it either after being fired at and in great pain." Donnie growled angrily but quickly raised his head and looked towards where Xen was.

Donnie rushed to Xen who laid in crashed debris and rubble, Mikey had also rushed over to help, Splinter had come over to Leo and April, "Splinter...?" April sobbed weakly as she looked up at him as he approached, Leo was pretty much semi-conscious now and limp in April's arms, April was worried as she was still unsure if the dart was poison being slow with its effects or a tranq.

Splinter crouched down to the two as his focus was on Leo, he placed a hand on Leo's forehead and checked his pulse to see for himself. "Is he…?" April questioned worriedly as she began to ask if it was poison or something bad. "He's fine. It was a powerful tranq, but there is something inside of him that was injected with that dart that's making him this way as well." Splinter said with slight confusement.

"It's probably regular Den Na' Vor blood." Donnie stated as he heard Splinter from where he was, he was crouched down next to Xen treating her. April and Splinter looked at him in confusement, Donnie shrugged in surprise as he remembered they didn't know after what Xen had explained to him. "A regular Den Na' Vor's blood is poison to us if it were injected into us, but in Leo's case, it won't harm him unless it's a very large amount injected into him, which doesn't seem to be considering he is fine but extremely weak at the moment. So it must've been a decent amount of blood in the dart as well in order to slow him down and tire him so that he wouldn't assist Xen in the fight, because he knew he would most likely have a chance of being defeated by Leo." Donnie explained.

"Dragor didn't know Xen was here, he was probably going to use the dart on Leo and then kill him and the rest of us, but he never expected Xen to be here and help, so his plans changed and he had to fight Xen, and in that process he got weakened badly by her and had to retreat." April added as she realized his attempted plan.

Donnie nodded in agreement, "Yep, Xen pretty much just saved us." He added. Xen woke up and already realized what had happened as she noticed Donnie helping her and patching her wounds, she slowly sat up as Donnie and Mikey eased her to slow down.

Xen clutched her shoulder slightly and gave a small whine in pain, she glanced around at the disaster and chaos that Dragor left. "My friends… are you ok?" Xen questioned as she looked at both Donnie and Mikey and then glanced over at Splinter, April and Leo who was limp in her arms. "Is he…?" Xen began, "Were all fine, but you on the other hand…" Donnie began, giving Xen a worried look.

Xen moved her gaze at Donnie and then at her shoulder, "I will be fine. We heal faster than you mortals. Xen also had a few cuts on her, but they weren't in any means serious.

"We must leave, cops and ambulances are sure to show up and investigate the large hole soon." Splinter said as he stood and gazed at the three. "What about Raph and Casey?" Mikey questioned, "They are already here." Splinter stated as he sensed them just arrive.

Splinter was correct as Raph and Casey approached the entrance with tons of bags of food and supplies. They both dropped the bags after noticing the destruction before their eyes as they stood at the entrance, "What the shell happened!" Raph shouted in shock.

"Long story…" Donnie said as he and Mikey helped Xen stand. "Let's get to the Shellcharger guys." Donnie said as the three began to walk towards the lab. Raph rushed over to Splinter and the other two and Casey followed, Raph had to literally lift and carry Leo as the small group followed Donnie and the other two towards the Shellcharger.

Sirens could be heard up above as they all entered the vehicle. Donnie took over the wheel and powered on the Shellcharger and quickly opened the garage door and drove out. "What's the plan now?" Mikey asked worriedly as he sat in the back seat next to Casey.

Everyone moved their look at Xen, Xen was leaning against the wall at the very back close to Mikey and Casey. She noticed this and glanced around in surprise, "Well… we have to find out where Dragor is staying and building the teleporter."

"Do you have any idea where he could be? And how long does it take for the teleporter to be built?" April questioned as she sat on the floor next to Leo who was unconscious as Raph sat on the other side. "Mmm, a day." Xen said.

"A day!? That's hardly enough time to search! You're injured and Leo's unconscious for who knows how long!" Raph growled angrily as he glared at Xen.

"He will be fine after a few hours of rest, no need to worry…" Xen began, "How can I not worry! He's my brother!" Raph shouted about to stand up angrily but was stopped by a sudden touch. Raph glanced down at his shoulder and noticed it was April who leaned over and placed a hand on his shoulder with a small reassuring smile. "Calm down, I'm worried too, ok. But right now, we gotta find a way to stop Dragor, if not for Leo, I would most likely be broken right now after what I heard from Dragor." April stated.

Raph sighed and lowered himself and took a breath to calm down, Raph glanced down at Leo, April reminded him of Leo, now he knew why the two seemed to be getting along very well. "Fine… what happened." Raph questioned moving his look back at Xen.

Xen shrugged slightly, "Well, in short. Dragor showed up, crashed through the ceiling, destroyed the place, knocked out Leo, he hurt me, I hurt him, he grabs the gem and retreats." "How did he find us?" Casey asked as he leaned using his elbows as support on his knees.

"He followed you and Raph on your first little stroll top side." Mikey said as he pointed at Casey, Casey glared slightly at Mikey in confusement. "But how did he know about me?"

"Adam." April said sadly as she lowered her head. "He forced Adam to talk and then….killed him…including my parents…" She added. Casey stood up in both shock and surprise, Casey wasn't much of a baby in terms of crying but when it resulted in his dad, the tears had begun to form in his eyes. "That's not true….!" Casey sobbed.

Everyone just looked down with sad looks and didn't say anything, marking that it was true. Casey was about to angrily flip out but Mikey shot upward and hugged Casey to comfort him as the two both fell to the floor with Casey sobbing.

Donnie had parked in a tunnel pretty far from the lair and turned to face everyone to discuss what was going to be planned next. Donnie pretty much came in second in charge with plans because of how much of a genius he was when Leo was gone or out of it, or worse if it ever happened. But he also knew Splinter was here, so he didn't call the shots, all he did was look at Xen who had glanced at him and he nodded at her.

Xen nodded back at Donnie and gave a small sigh. "We rest for a few hours. Dragor will not build the teleporter right away knowing him, he will first tend to his injury and rest as well and then build. So at the most, we have a day. I will be able to fight again after a few hours as well, and Leo should be awake by then too." Xen stated, "I know where we can go in order to find the whereabouts of Dragor as well." Donnie added.

Everyone moved their gaze towards Donnie, giving him a confused look. "The Purple Dragons." He remarked. Donnie glanced at Splinter who sat on the small couch to see if he was ok with this, considering he was also forced out of the lair and included into this incident making Donnie feel bad.

Splinter noticed this and only gave a small sigh, "I agree. I expected something like this to happen, my sons being heroes and saving lives. I will help to stop this Dragor and his plans with this teleporter, but after we get a few hours of rest. There is a held up storage unit not far within the sewers where I have stashed weapons of ours as well in case of emergencies such as this, we can grab those later on."

It was official, everyone gave Splinter a small smile. After a few hours of resting, they would head out to the storage, requip their weapons, go to the Purple Dragons and find out where Dragor was hiding out and building the teleporter in order to stop him and his attempted invasion.


	15. Chapter 15: The Teleporter

**Warning: Character death!**

**Chapter 15: The Teleporter**

"Mikey! I swear to god I'll end your whole nunchuck career!" Raph shouted as he force grabbed the nunchuck Mikey had in his hand. Mikey had accidently hit Raph with his nunchuck after spinning it all over the place, he was happy to have his favorite weapon back in hand.

Everyone was at the storage after a few hours had passed of rest, Leo had woken up and was back to normal about an hour ago, but April could tell something was bothering him. Xen's injury has closed up on its own quickly, and could fight again just fine, she wasn't wrong when she could heal faster than mortals.

April gave an unamused look as she noticed Casey just giddying all around the weapons with sparkly eyes in amazement as he touched and investigated each weapon in the room. April didn't use any weapons so she protested against them with a sigh and walked out of the storage and back to the Shellcharger where she would wait along with Xen and Splinter.

"Perfect!" Casey chuckled happily as he held up some weapons in hand, "A bat and a hockey stick? Really?" Donnie remarked as he stood behind Casey with arms crossed and an eye raised.

Casey turned around to face Donnie, "Uh yeah, you're one to talk, stick boy." Casey laughed. Donnie only rolled his eyes and grabbed Casey and dragged him out of the storage before he hurt himself with all the sharper weapons that he couldn't keep his greedy hands off of when he saw one.

After everyone requipped their weapons and all regrouped back into the Shellcharger, they all discussed their next move. "So… who's going to say hi to the boss man when we arrive?" Donnie questioned as he sat in the driver seat and powered on the Shellcharger. Leo smirked slightly as he gazed at Xen, Xen only looked at him confusingly as she noticed this, "Xen will, the dude's already seen and encountered Dragor, you can get him to talk." Leo stated as he pointed at her.

Xen shrugged with a flick of her tail, he wasn't wrong though and it was a good idea. "So be it." She remarked with a slight proud tone.

"Where is Jenna!?" A man's voice shouted angrily, "She's dead, boss…" A man said with an innocent tone, The boss only glared at the man who answered his question, he let out a small growl, "Damn that dragon…" He instantly jolted in surprise when a loud crash came from above, all the purple dragons that surrounded the boss below were also in sudden shock.

Xen had crashed through the top window as she flew above all the purple dragons that were gathered around, she could tell immediately that they all were frightened the moment they laid eyes on her.

Xen only gave him an unamused look as she landed heavily right in front of him with a slam to the ground, breaking the concrete floor easily as she did. She caused the man to fall back onto his ass with fear as he began to shake frighteningly. She only moved her face directly into his with a serious unamused expression on her face, "Where is Dragor hiding out?" she growled lowly attempting to try and not show any remorse.

"W-why should I tell you anything!?" The man frighteningly questioned her as he still shook in fear on the ground, Xen glanced at the purple dragons behind her in the corner of her eye, they weren't attempting anything at all in order to protect or save their boss, they all were too shocked and in fear to move, and she didn't blame them.

She moved her gaze back at him and then stepped back slightly, raising her head submissively. "Do you want him dead or not?" Xen questioned him as she raised an eye. The boss suddenly stopped shaking from what Xen had questioned him, he became confused, "You're not working with him?" He questioned her, Xen shook her head. The boss man stood to his feet slowly as he still gazed at Xen, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small paper, handing it to her.

Xen glanced at the paper as he held it out for her before she grabbed it, she looked at the paper and it marked a location. "That's where he is staying and building that evil thing." The man said with a serious tone.

Xen moved the paper down and gave him a reassuring smile as a thank you before she took off and flew back out the broken window. Donnie opened the side doors for Xen as she entered, she held up the paper in hand with a smile, showing she got the location.

Practically everyone gave her a smile as she handed it to Donnie, Donnie became surprised when he saw it and everyone's smile faded, "What is it?" Raph questioned. "Inside a live volcano that produces heat twenty four seven?! You're kidding me, right?!" Donnie remarked as he held up the paper back at Xen. "You guys are extremely powerful in the heat!" Raph added as he remembered what Kana and Xen mentioned about their species.

Xen shrugged innocently as she sat back against the wall of the vehicle in the very back, "I will deal with Dragor, we will be equal in power. You'll have to find a way to stop the teleporter." Xen stated, "Can Leo still manage to hold you guys back even when stronger in the heat?" April questioned her with a confused look on her face.

Xen shrugged again, "Not entirely… I would like it if you guys didn't fight or confront Dragor… he can easily kill you with how powerful he can get in the heat.." Xen began to give a worried expression as she glanced around at everyone, she feared for them as she knew very well how easily they could get killed.

Xen noticed Leo who gave her a small smile, she became confused with this from him as he seemed to be very compelling and she tended to like this about him. "You're not fighting him alone, Xen. Sure we can easily get killed by your species, but we can also be an easy distraction." Leo stated as he gazed at her seriously, Xen noticed all the other turtles also smile at her as they agreed with Leo.

Xen sighed as she gave up, "Fine, you may help. But, Donnie you will have to be the one to figure out the controls and to stop and shut down the teleporter." Donnie nodded in agreement before he turned back around in the driver seat and left the purple dragons location.

It took about an hour to reach the location of Dragor, everyone was anxious as they arrived. Donnie pulled up along the side, attempting to hide the vehicle on the side of the mountain.

April was about to stand with a sigh but was prevented as a hand was placed on her shoulder and forced back down, she gazed up and noticed it was Leo with a serious expression and she only gave him a confused look, "You and Casey are staying here." He stated as he glanced at Casey as well.

"WHAT!?" Both April and Casey shouted angrily, "I hate to admit it, but you two are easy targets, you'll get in the way." Leo added worriedly, but also didn't have a choice as it was for their own safety as well.

"You can't keep us here like sheep!" Casey growled angrily as he protested, April only lowered her head down sadly, he was totally correct and she also hated to admit it on how weak and useless she felt, the turtles and Splinter were professionals when it came to ninjutsu, and she's only had a few days of training when they had years.

They would be like birds provoking and teasing the bait, while she and Casey would be like flies caught in a spider-web. "You gotta be kidding me, this is-" Casey began but was interrupted, "Casey, Shut up! He's right." April growled at him angrily, Casey only glared at her but didn't continue arguing as he only sat back down with a pout.

"Sorry dude…" Mikey said sadly as he placed a hand on Casey's shoulder before exiting the vehicle and leaving him. April grabbed both Leo's and Xen's hands before they exited, the two looked back at her in surprise but also confusement, "You guys come back, alive… please…" April remarked sadly, she was tired of losing people, and she didn't want to lose anyone else. She also knew that these two had a chance at beating Dragor if they worked together, but she also knew they were at a higher risk of being killed and she feared the thought of that as she remembered Kana, her parents, Jenna and Adam.

Xen gave a small smile at April and nodded, "Sure." Xen remarked as she let loose and exited the vehicle, Leo didn't say anything, he only gave an innocent smile before exiting, he didn't know the outcome of the fight with Dragor and he wasn't going to make any promises

The group had entered the volcano, and it was really hot, they snuck around a corner and followed down a hallway quietly. "No guards? The dude must be too confident…" Raph growled lowly, annoyed that there was no one to beat up. "Cliché." Mikey chuckled lowly, Raph smacked him with a small growl of annoyance.

"Enough you two." Leo growled at the two behind him as they all stopped at another corner, Xen was the first in line as she peered around it, she noticed an open room and the first thing she saw was Dragor who had already built the teleporter and was figuring it out with it's controls.

Xen let out a small growl of annoyance as well, Raph smirked slightly from her growl as it made him happy he wasn't the only one annoyed. "He's already finished building it, he's just figuring out the controls." Xen whispered as she gazed at Leo and Splinter, Splinter was hardly noticed as he was the most silent, but he glanced at Leo who was looking at him for instructions considering he was here.

Splinter raised an eyebrow, "We'll do our best to distract him while you be the tank with him, Xen. Donnie you focus on stopping that teleporter, as far as I can tell, only you and Leo are capable of stopping him, you two must work together." Splinter stated with a nod, the rest returned the nod with one as well.

Splinter pointed forward telling Xen to take action, Xen glared at Dragor who's back was facing her, she crouched down into a ready pounce and then putting amense strength into her hind legs, she darted at him.

Dragor heard the crack and break as he let out an annoyed growl, getting frustrated with how the teleporter worked as it wasn't entirely responding to any buttons he would press. He quickly gazed behind him and noticed Xen charging him, extremely fast too.

Dragor had no time to react other than block the incoming attack as he raised his arms and crossed them in front of one another with a surprised expression on his face. "Xen! How's that wound of yours and those filthy turtle friends of yours?" Dragor growled attempting to mock her.

Xen only glared at him as the two were face to face, Dragor only let out a small sigh and then a large roar, large doors all around the room began to open and she quickly jumped back and away from him as she glanced around at the open doors.

"Like them? They're my little attack drones. How should I put it, oh yeah, they're my friends and backup." Dragor laughed, the doors that opened were small rooms, filled with robots that had weapons, they activated immediately and instantly darted at Xen. Xen smacked one with her tail hard as it crashed into the ground and broke apart, Leo let out a whistle and did some hand signs, telling the others to protect Xen as she focused on Dragor and Donnie as he worked on the teleporter.

Splinter was instantly the first to take out multiple of the attack drones, but the entire room was filled with them and more kept coming. Leo drew one of his swords and he slashed his way to Xen, Donnie made his way towards the teleporter as Raph and Mikey helped him out.

"How many of these things are there!?" Mikey growled angrily as he was forced to pull out the blade from his nunchuck. Raph glanced around and at the rooms they came from, they continued to produce more, "A crap ton apparently…" Raph growled, spinning his sai's and slashed through multiple of the drones.

Donnie slid towards the controls as Xen managed to grab and throw Dragor away from the teleporter and crashed into a wall in the opposite direction of the room. Donnie gulped nervously as he stared at the controls, "Donnie, will you shut it down already!?" Raph growled as he backed up closer to him considering he was sitting there just staring at the controls, "You try figuring out something this complicated!" Donnie sobbed slightly.

Dragor crashed out of the wall he landed in and let out an angry roar, he charged at Xen who was approaching him with a snarl. The two clang with one another with their claws, but Dragor managed to duck under an attempted claw swipe attack from Xen and grabbed her leg with his tail, throwing her into the wall behind him heavily.

Leo jumped on top of one of the drones and balanced on it as it tried to attack him, but Leo was preventing it. He glanced over at where Xen was, fighting Dragor, he noticed she had been thrown and was taking her time to recover, they really were going all out as each step they took just about broke the ground, leaving cracks.

Dragor laughed menacingly as Xen sat against the wall, she felt dizzy from how hard the impact was, her vision was blurred but she could tell Dragor was charging her, head down, horns up.

Leo glared at Dragor as he quickly drawn out his second sword and ran over, he spun the blades once and slid in front of Xen just as soon as Dragor had just about reached her, he crossed his blades letting the swords take the impact of Dragor's attack, using the elders strength without realizing it he managed to deflect Dragor, causing him to turn his attack as he crashed into the wall right next to Xen.

Xen shook her head to get rid of the blur and dizziness, she glanced at Dragor who rammed himself into the wall next to her but she moved her look back at Leo who stood in front of her slightly panting, both his swords were cracked, she looked at him in surprise.

"Not entirely… which meant there was still a chance I could, and I take my chances." Leo stated as he turned and looked at her seriously, Xen smiled at him as she stood and recovered, he was learning quickly about the elder blood in him. "You mustn't take another attack from him, it could surely injure you, or worse." Xen stated in worry.

"You… Damn BRAT!" Dragor shouted angrily as he recovered from the crash, yanking his head out of the wall lastly as his horns had gotten stuck. "A mere kid possessing elder blood!? Pathetic, it isn't full elder blood in you and you still managed to push me! I knew something was with you!" Dragor growled as he charged at Leo, Xen didn't allow it as she jumped in front and claw swiped Dragor right in the face devestateling hard, which in result sent him rolling across half the room.

"Wow they are really going at it…" Mikey said as he stood in amazement. Raph slashed a drone that attempted an attack at Mikey while he was distracted, he walked up to Mikey and slapped him upside behind the head, "Yeah, well pay attention to our own task at hand!" Raph growled.

Splinter dropped and landed next to Mikey and Raph, "How's the teleporter going!?" Raph questioned Donnie as he glanced behind. Donnie shrugged as he was still nervous with each button he pressed and investigated, "Uh, still figuring it out…"

Leo sheathed his two swords due to them being cracked, another attack from Dragor would for sure snap them as well. Xen swung her tail aggressively and charged Dragor, keeping him away from Leo, she wasn't going to allow him to hurt her good friends and kill more innocents. As soon as Dragor recovered and stood, Xen had already grasped her claws into his shoulders and through his skin, he roared out painfully as he was pushed down back to the ground.

Xen had pinned him down as she let out a large snarl and inched her face closer to his, "Why? Why did you change, why are you doing this?" she questioned him angrily, she remembered him being a good person many decades ago, they were a team, they were family, they were brother and sister.

Dragor smirked at her as he looked at her dead in the eyes, he let out a small evil laugh, "For the master of course. You know who I am talking about, don't you." Xen widened her eyes, there was only one Den Na' Vor that he called master, and she knew that master to be pure evil.

"He turned you into this!" Xen growled, Dragor only laughed menacingly. "Oh, I chose to become like this!" Dragor added as he continued to laugh. Xen noticed that he had suddenly stopped laughing and glared in a certain general direction, she moved her gaze to where he was looking and she became instantly surprised with worry, she noticed Casey marching his way from the hall angrily, and April slid out from the corner from the end of the hall and ran after Casey as she was trying to stop him.

Dragor instantly remembered what Jenna told him about that girl, April. He stared at her for a second and ignored Casey, he then glanced at Leo who only glared at the two confusingly as he noticed something was up, Dragor then moved his look directly at Xen and gave a wide smirk with a chuckle.

"Casey! Don't!" April shouted as she ran after him down the hall, Casey only growled and pulled out his bat, spinning it in hand. "I am not just idly sitting by and missing out on the fun!" Casey growled angrily as he slammed the bat in his hand and entered the room where he had already noticed the fight happening.

But what Casey didn't notice was the two Den Na' Vor's going all out to his left. Raph glanced and noticed Casey and April enter the room, "Mikey!" Raph shouted and pointed at the two he was directing at, Mikey looked at where he was pointing and instantly knew, "On it!"

Mikey quickly rushed over to the two, considering April was still behind and decently far he had grabbed Casey first and ran him back towards Raph. April stopped the minute she entered the room as she quickly noticed Xen pinning Dragor down, "Oh no…" April said lowly to herself.

"The boy is protective over her, no?" Dragor smirked and chuckled evilly lightly, Xen knew Dragor really wanted to kill Leo as he has been the main reason for attempting to stop his plans along with the others, as soon as Xen returned her look back at Dragor, he had already used his hind legs and kicked Xen off, he stood up quickly and wrapped his tail around her leg again and sent her crashing across the room.

Leo became surprised as he noticed Mikey running back with Casey, he quickly looked back at the hall and noticed April who had just entered, "Damnit.." Leo growled as he glanced around, he noticed a sword on the ground in her general direction, he let out a small annoyed growl and darted towards the blade, he leaned down as he ran towards her and picked up the sword.

Dragor had already noticed Leo making his way to April, he quickly spread his wings and used them as a boost as he jumped and charged at April with a prepared attack.

Leo slid at April and tripped her to lower her from the incoming attack, he knew Dragor could easily direct his attack down and he also knew that Dragor was mainly after him and not April. He jumped and blocked the attack mid-air with the one sword, though the sword wasn't strong enough like his own and it was one blade.

The blade instantly snapped from the impact as Dragor was smirking the entire time, pleased to have landed a hit finally. Leo was sent crashing into the nearby wall behind them, April raised herself slightly as she watched, Dragor had flown over and past her, he was directing his attention on Leo.

Mikey had already rushed over and helped April up, April was putting up a fight with him as she noticed Leo not recovering or moving as his back was up against the wall. "LEO! Mikey, let me go!" April struggled as she attempted to break free, "I can't do that!" Mikey said sadly as April pushed at his face with her hand angrily.

Xen recovered from her crash as she quickly noticed the situation, she let out a large angered growl. "You're pure evil and unjust!" Xen growled deeply as she stood.

Leo coughed as he attempted to move and stand but quickly fell back limp and clutched his side tightly, he glanced down weakly and noticed a crack on his plastron, he only clenched his teeth and looked back up. "Damn…" Leo weakly growled, his vision was blurry as he was dizzy from the impact still, he noticed Dragor who stood on his hind legs and smirked at him as he swung his tail around happily.

"Still breathing I see." Dragor remarked with a small evil chuckle, Dragor was about to attempt another attack at Leo and Leo noticed this as he was about to charge, Leo quickly tried to stand once more but let out a painful yelp and fell back down as he grasped his side tightly again.

April noticed Dragor about to charge Leo again, she instantly stopped struggling and looked down at Mikey's foot, "Sorry Mikey…" April said with a serious tone, she used her foot and slammed it into Mikey's, Mikey let go of April instantly and yelped painfully but quickly recovered as he attempted to grab April again but failed as she had quickly started running towards Leo already, "April, don't!" Mikey shouted worriedly.

Dragor leaped, charging at Leo who couldn't recover, but he had instantly stopped directly in front of him, he had fear in his eyes. April had slid in front of Leo as one hand was on him behind her, she was protecting him, she was looking dead at Dragor in the eyes angrily.

Leo only looked surprised as he peered over April's shoulder and glanced at Dragor who had stopped suddenly when he could've easily killed them both. April noticed Dragor was in complete fear, his claws were spread out directly close to her face, she didn't know why he stopped and was in complete fear.

Dragor shakenly raised himself slightly as if attempting to break free from something, but April thought it was just him in complete fear. April gave him a slight confused look, "You're a Kine…" Dragor said nervously.

Both April and Leo only looked at him confusingly, Xen had already and quickly ran over, she grabbed Dragor by the tail and yanked him away from the two, tossing him across the room and darted at him as she would attempt to not let him recover again.

April instantly widened her eyes and came to realization, she angrily placed her hands into fists and were folded in front of her towards her chest as she glared at Dragor angrily while he was fighting, "Do I look like a fucking cow to you!" April shouted angrily as she pointed at Dragor, "Ohh! I'll show you what a damn Kine is when this is over! I don't have that kind of meat on my bones!" She added.

Leo managed to finally stand up, he staggered as he did and used the wall as support. He knew he definitely broke something, most likely a rib as his side was overly painful but he endured it. "A-April, I don't think he was referring to a cow…" Leo stated as he walked beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down as she was still on the ground on her knees.

"Ohh, I'll show him a damn cow when this is over! I don't care what he was referring to! He doesn't know earth's english terminology and grammar meanings!" She growled, she suddenly stopped and looked up at Leo who gave her a small slightly worried smile, he somewhat found it funny how easily she overreacted to being called a cow, and he also found it somewhat adorable when she got mad like this as it was the first time he's seen it.

Leo's smile faded as he noticed April look at his side where he was still grasping it and calmed down, looking down at the ground. "I'm sorry…" April said sadly, Leo gave her a small reassuring look as he crouched down, "It was Casey, wasn't it?" He questioned her, April glanced at him and looked at him directly in the eyes, she absolutely loved his eyes, they were more of a darker blue, like an ocean, she looked back down sadly again, "He wanted to help and he force proceeded here and I tried to stop him, but by the time I knew it, we were already here. But in a way I also went with it… I was too worried… I don't lose anyone else…" April stated.

"And it still doesn't change the fact you got hurt protecting me, again. You still choose to protect a pathetic human like me…" April remarked as she looked away slightly in small regret.

Leo tilted his head slightly, "And you chose to protect a mutant like me." Leo stated in return as he raised an eye, April moved her look at him in slight surprise, she honestly reacted without entirely thinking herself, just like what Leo had warned her about him doing the same with his somewhat sacrificial habits when he remarked it just happens without thinking. Now she knew what he meant exactly, April gave him a sulking expression and this confused him.

She felt like him calling himself a mutant even though it was true, was defined as an insult in its own way. "You guys are my mutants. My brothers, and whether you like it or not, I am your sister." April stated angrily as she still gave a small sulk, she made it official, they were family now, they were the only one's she had left and so she considered them as her brothers, and knowing Leo has always pretty much wanted a sister, she had confirmed it as she chose to be one for him and the others. She didn't care if they weren't related, whether it be blood related, gene's, or whatever, she didn't care if they were mutants, or different in any way.

Leo didn't say anything as he only gave her a surprised expression. "Guys! Come on!" Mikey shouted at Leo and April directing them as he waved and destroyed some more drones. Leo offered his hand to help April up as he stood back up, April gave a small smile, he was the injured one and he was the one helping, she let out a small sigh and accepted and stood up as the two rushed over towards Mikey.

The teleporter began to activate, it started swerving the large round circled pillars around it and electricity sparked out the ends as it circled. Donnie started to freak out, "Donnie, what did you do!?" Raph growled as he and Casey ran up to him after the two finished pounding some more drones down. Donnie started to remove some of the panels to look at the wires, but there weren't any, "It's not me, it's doing it on its own." Donnie stated he removed more panels around the controls.

Xen roared out painfully as Dragor had managed to pin her down, he held her down with his claws sanked into her shoulders and was biting down on her neck attempting to kill her by crushing it. Splinter noticed this as he was standing alongside his sons, he glanced at his sons as they all were focusing on Donnie as he was attempting to figure out how to stop the teleporter, he knew something was wrong, he gave a small smile and quickly went onto all fours and rushed towards Xen and Dragor to help her.

Leo noticed this and he quickly attempted to grab and reach out for Splinter but stopped mid-way at the sudden jolt of pain in his side, he clenched his teeth, grasping his side and collapsed to one knee as he let out a small painful whine. April was already crouched down next to him in worry, she looked where he was and noticed Splinter had already rushed in to go help Xen who was being killed and losing.

Casey glanced around at the teleporter, he quickly rushed over to one panel and removed it on the other side of the controls from where Donnie was pulling panels off, the power gem was sitting behind the panel he had just pulled off. Casey stared at it for a second and then clenched his teeth as he quickly grasped the gem, attempting to pull it out, but it failed as he got zapped and deflected back.

Casey let out a small yelp of pain as he fell back, grasping his hand, the gem had caused an electric shock that had cut him on top of his hand. "Damn!" Casey growled, Donnie peered over and noticed this, "Oh no.." He remarked. April helped Leo stand back up, and they all looked at Donnie in confusement, "What!?" Raph asked angrily in confusement. "The teleporter is malfunctioning, it's breaking down, most likely because Dragor must've built it wrong, that's why it isn't responding to the controls and it's overheating the power gem and it can't be removed." Donnie stated.

Donnie quickly stood up and grabbed Casey, pulling him behind him and with the others, he spread his arms and hands forcing everyone to move back and away from the teleporter. The teleporter began to malfunction more as the pillars began to spin rapidly and heavily, electricity was swerving everywhere causing small lightning like flashes that could harm someone.

Splinter rushed up behind Dragor as he was distracted, he ran up his wing and onto his back and clanged to him and also bit down onto the back of his neck. Dragor let go of Xen as he let out an annoyed small painful roar, Splinter had bit down into an already wounded part of his neck where his scales were gone. He jolted backward aggressively and started to attempt to buck Splinter off of him as he couldn't reach him with his arms and claws.

"Damn vermin!" Dragor growled as he swung around and shook, Splinter knew none of his ninjutsu attacks and defenses would be of any use on a beast such as this, due to their overwhelming power and defense. He was practically buying time for Xen to recover and bring back the winning achievement, he knew she could win if she tried hard enough and not just for her sake.

Xen weakly glanced at Splinter who still clung to Dragor's back, he gave her a small reassuring look, attempting to show her what he was thinking and why he was performing such a dangerous action. Dragor became officially annoyed, he tilted himself almost fully to the side so he would be able to grab Splinter, and he did. He grasped onto Splinters neck and back, sinking his claws into him and forced him off, Splinter didn't revoke any signs of pain.

"SPLINTER!" Both Mikey and Raph shouted, the two attempted to run over and help but were stopped and held back by Donnie and Leo, April and Casey also helped hold them back. They knew that Splinter didn't want them anywhere near over there close to Dragor, not only that, the teleporter was most likely going to either explode soon and break apart into a somewhat small explosion, or something else would happen with it.

The turtles, Casey and April were attempting to back up and leave out the hall, but they were stopped and prevented by all the drones and how Mikey and Raph were still attempting to fight their way towards Splinter.

Dragor threw Splinter into the wall hard, causing cracks into the wall as he hit it, Splinter still revoked as he stood leaning against the wall, not even collapsing. Dragor glared at him, "Persistent rat!" He growled angrily. Splinter knew he had several broken bones, most likely many that even shattered and he wouldn't be alive much longer due to it, Splinter only smiled at his sons, including April and Casey.

All of them had worry and fear in their eyes, Mikey was the first to start crying, Raph was struggling to hold back the tears as the two stopped struggling to get to him.

Dragor charged and rammed his horns into Splinter and directly forcibly into the wall, he literally crashed through the wall causing a large hole and all that could be seen was a ton of rubble collapsing and piling up over the hole in the wall.

Xen weakly raised her on her side and glanced over as she saw what happened, memories instantly rushed throughout her head, especially one that had happened with the same recurring incident that she just witnessed, her younger sister had received the same attack and was killed by it, and it was Dragor who did it as he devastated her world and took it over.

Dragor crashed out from the hole as he noticed the teleporter malfunctioning and acting strange, he widened his eyes in complete fear and worry, "No… No no NO!" Dragor shouted as he attempted to rush towards the teleporter, but instantly stopped as he noticed he coughed up blood.

Dragor glanced down as he was being pushed, it was Xen, she was overwhelmingly angry but also sad, and crying. She jabbed her horns into Dragor's side and pushed him along the ground, "No more… No more!" she cried as she and him both rammed into and through the wall.

"We have to go, NOW!" Donnie shouted, "Not without Xen!" Mikey shouted as he attempted to force his way towards her but was being held back once again. Mikey fell back into Donnie who caught him as a jolt of electricity had shot directly in front of him, the range was becoming very wide with the teleporters malfunctioning.

Xen and Dragor both crashed out from the wall and rolled over one another once, Dragor attempted a bite down but Xen used her hind legs and threw him over her as he crashed and rolled along the ground. Xen glanced at the others and raised her head, "Go, NOW! Get out of here!" she shouted worriedly.

Everyone turned around and was about to leave, Raph, Mikey and Casey were still fighting and kicking away from drones that followed and quickly caught up. They all were about to enter the hall to leave but were suddenly stopped as they couldn't see, a bright white light suddenly shot all around in the room and down the hall, blinding them, and then it became complete darkness.


	16. Chapter 16: Welcome To Dimension Nether

**This is where the real story begins now! Mwahahaha, no not entirely, ok maybe, idk...**

**Chapter 16: Welcome to Dimension Nether**

Mikey jolted awake as he suddenly couldn't breathe, he plopped his head out of the ground and started coughing out sand. He quickly glanced around and noticed they weren't in that room with the teleporter anymore all of a sudden, he was entirely surrounded by nothing but sand and mountains in the distance along with some trees.

"Woah dude… where the heck are we!?" Mikey shouted confusingly. Raph had suddenly jolted upward right in front of Mikey, causing him to jump in fright, Raph had an unamused and annoyed expression on his face as he began to spit out sand.

Mikey was breathing out a bunch of times as mist was coming from his mouth each time, something that only happens in really cold places, but it wasn't cold at all, it was perfect temperature. "Wooaahh, it's cold, but it's not at the same time! What's going on!? My brain can't take this!" Mikey stated as he began to freak out in a somewhat happy way.

Raph turned and looked at Mikey, and slapped him behind the head, "What brain?" Casey had also plopped his head out of the sand with sudden surprise, "What the heck happened!" he questioned worriedly as he suddenly stood up in a defensive position and spit out some sand.

"How the heck should I know!" Raph shouted angrily as it was somewhat in distance, April raised herself and rubbed her hand on her eyes because of the sudden blinding and then darkness, she glanced over to where she heard Raph shout and noticed him arguing with Mikey and Casey.

She sat up and noticed Donnie raise himself slowly and placed a hand on his head close by, she also noticed they were somewhere entirely different, "We were teleported…?" April questioned herself as she shook her head to wake up more.

April raised her head after she rubbed her eyes one more time, she could still hear Raph and Casey shouting at each other in the distance. She glanced around for Leo and she noticed him laying on his side not too far from her and Donnie, she instantly became frightened and worried as she noticed he wasn't moving, and she saw blood.

April quickly stood up and rushed towards him, "Donnie!" she shouted for him as she slid directly next to Leo and lifted him slightly, resting him on her knees.

Donnie shook his head to snap himself awake as he heard April shout for him, he raised himself quickly as he snapped out of it and noticed he was in an entirely new place. "Donnie! Something's wrong!" April shouted as she was looking at him with a worried expression, Donnie moved his look over and noticed she had Leo with her, and he wasn't showing any signs of waking up like everyone else did.

Donnie quickly stood up and rushed over with worry as well for his brother, he slid beside the two and hovered his hands over Leo, "What's going on?" Donnie questioned as he glanced over Leo, he was coughing up a lot of blood and he was showing signs of being in pain as his eyes were tightly closed and he was grasping his side.

"I'm asking you that!" April said as she wiped away some blood from Leo's mouth, "What's wrong with him?" She added questioningly. Donnie removed Leo's hand from his side and noticed the crack on his plastron, he must've got injured by Dragor and broke a bone, he also lowered Leo's scarf slightly and noticed the blood seeping through it and slightly covering the scarf.

"I-I'm not sure… he's coughing up a lot of blood but that could be anything. He keeps grabbing his side, what happened?" Donnie questioned her considering he didn't see what happened at the time as he was focused on the teleporter.

April sadly glanced at the crack, "Dragor landed a hit on him on his side." Donnie glanced at April as she showed some regret, which meant he must've protected her again, Donnie glanced over Leo again, "He most likely has a broken rib, and the impact from the hit broke off part of his plastron. The result of him coughing up blood like this I am unsure of, unless the break is really bad and ruptured something…" Donnie was trying to think and figure out why this was happening but nothing was coming to mind.

April looked at Donnie with confusement, "What? If he did, he would be worse than this and wouldn't have been able to even stand back at the volcano, he was fine before-" April was cut off, "Before we arrived here! That's it!" Donnie finished her sentence as he finally came to the conclusion.

"Casey!" Raph shouted worriedly, both Donnie and April looked over to their general direction in confusement, Casey had suddenly collapsed unexpectedly and looked very ill. "They were both fine before we arrived here…" Donnie began.

Donnie stood up and glanced around their surroundings, they were in an entirely new world, new planet, new dimension, he was unsure which exactly but it was a new planet for sure. "This place is affecting them because they're injured. In Leo's case though, he's worse than Casey at the moment, Casey only has a small cut on his hand…" Donnie continued as he was putting it all together, "And Leo has a broken rib and possibly something else going on with him, that's why he's coughing up so much blood…. Because it's an inner injury.." April added and finished as Donnie nodded and agreed with her.

Donnie crouched back down and checked Leo's pulse, he was getting worse and growing weaker quickly. April sadly looked down at him, "He's dying… isn't he..?" Donnie only looked at her with a sad expression, he didn't say anything nor did he want to as she was correct, the same was most likely happening with Casey, but Leo's condition was worse and he hardly had a lot of time.

"I don't know if it's the world itself, the air, the atmosphere or something else, but one thing I do know is, we gotta find a cave." Donnie stated as he stood back up and pointed towards the trees and mountains, "Caves are low in oxygen depending on how far it goes, it could help Leo and Casey and buy us more time. There's also life here, considering the trees and that we can even breathe here. Plus, I don't think we're alone…" Donnie began as he pointed at something in the distance more to the right of the trees and mountains.

April gazed in the general direction he was pointing, she noticed why and what it was, there was a tall tower, an actual building that was noticeable from where they were which meant there were most likely people living here and they could get help.

Donnie had crouched back down and removed the sheathes with the swords still in them including the knife attached to them from Leo's strap and handed them to April. April looked at them confusingly, "Hold onto them, Leo would kill us if we left his swords behind." Donnie said, giving her a small reassuring smile trying to show he will be fine, "April… if there's one thing about Leo I haven't told you yet, it's the fact that he's one hell of a fighter, he's been through worse, he isn't just our leader for nothing. But right now, we have to find a cave and get out of this open area that is most likely killing him and Casey, family comes first." Donnie added.

April gave Donnie a sad look but he was entirely correct and she was grateful for what he just said, she grabbed Leo's sheathed swords from Donnie's hand and placed them to the side as Donnie had grabbed and lifted Leo up into his arms, carrying him. April stared at her hand and Leo's blood that was on it, 'Been through worse?' she thought questioning herself before putting it off and standing up carrying Leo's swords and followed behind Donnie who already started walking towards the tower.

"Casey!? What's wrong with you man!?" Raph questioned worriedly as he was beside Casey who was laying on his side on the ground, Mikey was beside him with worry. "Somethings wrong with Leo too." Mikey stated as he pointed, Raph quickly turned his look to see, he noticed Donnie carrying Leo in his arms and walking off towards a tower in the distance, Donnie had turned his head to look at Raph and Mikey, "Grab Casey and come on!" Donnie shouted at them as he nodded his head towards the tower directing them where they were going.

Raph lifted Casey up onto his back, him and Mikey both quickly followed up behind Donnie and April. After a few minutes of walking in the sand they had finally reached the trees, Both Casey and Leo's conditions were worsening. Donnie had to stop for a minute to use and place Leo's scarf over his mouth and nose to help block out at least some of the air, he was unsure if it was the air causing it to happen to the two, or the planet itself, but either way, anything that could help would be taken into action.

Donnie had found a cave not too far from where the tower was sighted, both the injured were layed in the very back as they all had entered the cave, it was clear, no monsters it seemed.

"Mikey and April, you two stay here and keep an eye. Me and Raph will go check out the tower to see if we can get any help and what we can find." Donnie stated as he pointed at himself. "Awww, but I wanted to come along!" Mikey sobbed lightly as he was standing next to April who was knelt down beside Leo and Casey.

" .Here." Raph slowly stated as he had approached Mikey and poked his forehead after each word he rephrased. "You'll just screw things up, leave it to us." Raph added as he backed away with a wave and both him and Donnie had left the cave, heading for the tower.

"Be careful please!" April shouted as they exited the cave. April sighed sadly as Mikey let out a pout, Mikey had collapsed and sat on the ground with an annoyed sigh. "Hey Mikey…" April began to question, Mikey moved his look at her with slight confusement and tilted his head, "Yeah?"

April couldn't get the fact of what Donnie said about Leo, the fact that he's been through worse, what could possibly be worse than this kind of suffering and pain, him and the others have only been top side for a few days for the first time. "Donnie stated that Leo's been through worse than this, what was it?" April finished her question as she thought more, she was very curious to know as her curiosity always got the best of her lately.

Mikey leaned back using one hand as support on the ground while his other hand was under his chin, thinking. "Must've been when he was extremely ill." Mikey thought trying to remember, April only raised an eyebrow at him and gave a sign to go on and continue.

Mikey shrugged slightly, "Well, when we were kids, Donnie got extremely ill once and Splinter had to be forced to leave the lair for medicine, it was really hard to get a hold of any medicine. Leo was the one who stayed with Donnie and kept an eye on him the entire time and took care of him. But after sometime that Donnie had gotten better, Leo had caught Donnie's illness due to him being with him all the time." Mikey stopped as he was trying to remember further and he squinted his eyes as he looked upward.

"How is that worse?" April questioned as she glanced down at Leo, "He's literally coughing blood and has a broken rib…" She added with slight confusement, she didn't want to mention that part of him currently dying. "Because Splinter couldn't get anymore medicine after it was all used up for Donnie, Leo almost died on us because of how bad it was, but he fought through it better than any of us could, without medicine. Donnie still blames himself for it happening." Mikey stated as he raised a finger happily as he remembered clearly for once.

April gazed at Mikey as her look became sad and directed it at Leo with worry, now she knew why Donnie stated he was one hell of a fighter, it wasn't just physically, but also mentally and spiritually.

Raph let out a small sneeze and wiped his nose with an annoyed groan, "Allergies?" Donnie questioned as he had stopped ahead of Raph and gazed at him in confusement. Raph only growled and walked past Donnie with a small growl, "You blame her, don't you?" Donnie added as he questioned Raph who kept walking towards the Tower.

Donnie jogged up to catch up to Raph a bit, "Of course I blame her, I don't get why Leo is so protective over her!" Raph growled angrily. Donnie rolled his eyes slightly as it was pretty obvious as is, "Leo would do the same for you, but he knows we can defend ourselves, she can't yet. Plus, she's family now, you know how Leo is." Donnie stated.

Raph came to a stop and jolted around, slamming his onto Donnie's chest, Donnie was frightened by this but also very confused, "Did you forget the part that he and Casey are literally going to die if we can't figure out how to save them? And because of her being a burden, Leo still proceeds to protect her and he gets injured while doing so almost each time. And the fact Splinter died protecting and helping someone we only knew a couple of days! And Leo is ending up the same way!" Raph shouted angrily as he was holding back tears.

Donnie gave Raph a sad expression, and a sorry one. Donnie gazed down at Raph's finger and gave a small sigh, "Did you also forget about what Splinter taught us? Stay calm at all times, think things through, and have faith and hope that things will work out." Donnie directed his gaze into Raph's pure green eyes, Raph consulted and lowered his finger slowly, "And that any ally is considered family. I know you fear losing Leo like with Splinter, but being upset won't help." Donnie added.

Raph gave Donnie a sad look and some regret, "Sorry… You're right. Thanks bro." Raph stated as he wiped an eye, turning back around and continuing to walk. Donnie gave a small smile that he was glad to help out Raph for once, he proceeded and quickly followed up behind Raph.

As soon as Donnie and Raph had climbed over a small hill and were directly in front of the tower, they both had stopped and stood at the place for a good minute with wide eyes and shock. "I thought it was just one building…" Raph exclaimed with amazement, "Guess not…" Donnie added.

There in front of them was the Tower itself, along with multiple other smaller towers and buildings. It was a homing tower and the only centered largest one that stood out even from a distance such as from the desert, it was an actual semi-decent large town, buzzing with people.

"Are those… Mutants!?" Raph questioned as he squinted his eyes trying to gather a closer look at some of the people who were walking around outside of the place and working. "Humans and mutants it seems like… co-existing.." Donnie stated, Raph was about to begin marching towards the town and enter but was stopped by Donnie.

"What!?" Raph growled as he glared at Donnie who had placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back. Donnie pointed at the entrance of the town in the distance, "Looks like we can't just enter, you need a licence or something." Donnie stated as there was a huge line of people waiting and being checked by heavily armed guards, he also directed his point in a different direction of the town. "A way in." Donnie added with a small smirk.

The town was surrounded by a large wall, but it wasn't too high enough that the two couldn't climb. Both Raph and Donnie snuck their way towards an unguarded part of the wall, both pulling out hand claws in order to climb up the wall.

Raph peered over the wall to check below to see if it was clear, seemed like a dead part of the town in an alleyway. Raph motioned Donnie that it was clear and the two finished climbing over, jumping down in the alley and putting away the claws. The two snuck towards more the streets and peered over the corner of the building to see what the place was like, "Dude… is that…?!" Raph began with astonishment along with confusement.

"Magic?!" Donnie finished as the two peered and noticed the busy street they were peering at, there were multiple people gathered at a small event, many were using magic to show off and pull stunts. "That's impossible, isn't that just a myth?!" Raph growled lowly as he glared slightly at Donnie. "Uh yeah, in our world. Remember, we're in an entirely different new planet, different atmosphere, different laws of physics." Donnie stated.

"And what do you two think you're doing?" A voice came from behind the two turtles, Donnie and Raph jumped in sudden surprise and Donnie hugged Raph frighteningly. What they heard came from a female fox mutant who stood behind them with arms crossed, tail flicking side to side and an eyebrow raised.

"You know you're not supposed to be in here without a licence, right?" The fox stated as she raised a licence in hand at them. Donnie started mumbling slightly as let go of Raph realizing what he did and raised his hands innocently slightly backing off. "Look, we're just looking for help is all." Raph said as he looked at the fox seriously.

"Hmm, you aren't from here are you. If you're spotted without a licence, you will be executed." She stated as she pointed her licence out towards the streets and guards who passed by laughing with each other. "What kind of help are you looking for?" She questioned the two.

"Our friends are dying…" Donnie stated as he slowly lowered his hands. "You were teleported here, weren't you?" She asked, putting away the licence in her bag that was on her back.

Both Raph and Donnie looked at her with wide eyes, surprised that she knew. "How..?" Donnie began but was interrupted, "It's been pretty uncommon here the past year, random people have been appearing out of thin air, claiming they aren't from here and were teleported, or suddenly having their surroundings vanish and appearing here. Though I never expected to run into a bunch of newbies myself, I normally ignore them and let the authorities deal with them, but your looks ceased my curiosity, what are you?" She stated and remarked with a question.

"We're mutants, turtles." Raph stated as he marched up to the fox and placed his face directly into hers, "I have a brother and a friend who is dying, are you gonna help or not?" He questioned slightly angrily at her with a small growl afterward.

The fox only glared back at Raph and raised an eyebrow once again, she gave a small sigh and shoved a paw into Raph's face pushing him out of hers, "Sure, I'll help. Just take me to them." She remarked with a wave as she pounced up on top of the wall and stood on it waiting for the two.

"Can we trust her?" Raph growled lowly as Donnie approached beside him, Donnie shrugged lightly, "Tell me the part where we have a choice?" Donnie remarked as he ran up the wall. Raph let out an annoyed growl before he proceeded to follow along back to the cave.

Mikey let out a small sneeze which spooked April as she was almost falling asleep, April directed her attention at him and tilted her head slightly, "Allergies?" She questioned him as he rubbed his nose with a small sob. Mikey blew his nose slightly, "Nah, still got some sand up my nose and I can still taste it. Eck!"

April let out a small chuckle but stopped as she and Mikey heard footsteps at the entrance of the cave, both turning their gazes at the entrance they noticed a small fox slowly enter and stop as they gazed at both Mikey and April, the two shot upward and stood in surprise and also being protective but both eased and relaxed once they noticed Raph and Donnie follow up behind the fox.

"So, there is other people and mutants here?" April questioned as she was focusing on the fox mutant and keeping an eye on her. Donnie tripped over a small rock stuck in the ground and face planted in the grass with a sudden surprised yelp as he was approaching to enter cave, he lifted his face as he still layed on the ground and gave an annoyed growl, "I hate this, I'm not use to this environment…" He mumbled lightly.

"Yeah, she's claiming to help." Raph pointed out, answering April's question as he glared lightly at the fox who only stood flicking her tail attempting to be intimidating. April raised an eye somewhat confusingly, she followed the fox with her eyes as they had walked past Mikey and towards her to check on the two who were worsening.

The foxes eyes all of sudden became excitedly sparkly as she knelt down beside Leo and lifted his hand, "This is real armor leather!" she excitedly giggled as she was touching the armor hand plating. Raph helped Donnie up after he tripped and the two stood staring at the fox in confusement, "Yeahh… can you save them or not?" Donnie questioned her with some annoyance.

"Can I? Of course I can child, but you wont like it as you all will have to also take part." The fox stated as she dug through her bag, everyone only glared at her in full out confusion but instantly became surprised and worried when the fox pulled out a few needles.

"We need shots!? We're not animals!" Raph growled angrily as he jumped back behind Donnie frighteningly as he hated and feared needles. The fox rolled her eyes slightly, "These are the only way to save these two, they're filled with special materials and liquids to adjust your bodies to this world's atmosphere. If you don't believe me, why don't one of you test it then?" She stated with slight annoyance, trying to reassure the two.

April could tell she wasn't lying or attempting anything bad, both Mikey and April raised their hands, "I'll do it!" the two said and looked at each other surprisingly. "We'll both do it." April remarked with a small smile at Mikey who agreed, this surprised the fox slightly but shrugged and allowed it.

After the two took the shot they didn't feel any different, "Nothing happens?" April questioned as she rubbed the spot where the shot was placed, Mikey suddenly collapsed with a large yawn and this spooked everyone, Raph instantly became defensive and was about to charge the fox, "Oh yeah… forgot to mention, it can make you feel really drowsy, or on occasion, cause you to pass out such as your friend here… Happened to me as well." The fox stated as she raised an eye glancing at Mikey who started snoring lightly.

"I don't feel drowsy…" April remarked as she looked at the fox confusingly, "It's different for everyone, some can resist it or it doesn't have drowsy effects at all on that person, which is your case." She explained raising more needles, "Who's next?" She smirked slightly, mostly directing it at Raph as he jumped frighteningly and hid behind Donnie again.

Donnie went ahead and did his next, but Raph was being persistent as he extremely feared needles, April knew this as Leo had to correct her at one point, Raph was literally up in a corner of the cave walls and clinging to it like a frightened spider. "How did he even get up there…?" The fox questioned as she gazed at him up in the corner, "Anything but needles!" Raph cried, Donnie only walked up beside the fox with a sigh, "Ninja training… here, let me." Donnie stated as he reached his hand out for a shot.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Raph shouted frighteningly at Donnie, knowing what he was planning. Donnie only smirked and threw the shot directly at Raph as he was too frightened and clinging to the wall and was unable to dodge it, Raph screamed frighteningly as he collapsed off the corner and passed out instantly after Donnie landed it on his shoulder.

April and the fox mutant were giving the last one's to Leo and Casey, Donnie chuckled lightly as he crouched down beside Raph, "I've always wanted payback, now I got it."

"How long until they wake up and recover?" April questioned as she gazed at the fox across from her, the fox sat back and gave a small confused shrug, "They'll be fine in a few hours after some rest, though that blue one is worse with his injuries. This stuff doesn't heal injuries, just adjusts the body to this world's air and atmosphere, they'll still have their injuries when they wake up."

"So it is the atmosphere that was affecting them?" Donnie questioned as he stood up and gazed at the fox in slight confusement. She nodded, "Anyone who arrives here from another world is affected, primarily from an injury, even the slightest cut could kill someone. If you are not born here, then this planet's atmosphere will take action into using that injury against you and making it even worse to the point it can kill you." She pointed at Leo, "Considering he has a physical injury, and a bad one at that, he would've died in the next hour if you guys didn't get help."

April sadly looked down at Leo who was still unconscious along with Casey, everytime she glanced and saw the crack in his plastron, it hurt her as it brought back that moment with him taking the hit to protect her once again but this time against Dragor who was still probably lurking around on this planet as well. "His name's Leonardo, I'm April, Donatello, Michelangelo, Rapheal, and Casey." April stated as she pointed at each of them as she introduced their names.

The fox gave a small smile and reassured April that they would be ok, "I'm Arna, After we all have some rest and everyone is awake, I'll explain about this place and answer your questions." The fox stated as she stood up glancing from April to Donnie.

Donnie had a slightly wide smile on his face as he was pretty curious on what was going on and how this place worked, and it would be best if everyone was in the picture in regards to the info and explanations. "Works for me!" Donnie excitedly said with a small chuckle, he walked over the wall and leaned up against it, ready for a small nap.

April glanced at Donnie noticing this as she needed one as well, she turned her attention to the fox who had also done the same thing. "Thank you." April said gratefully to her, the fox only opened one eye and gave April a welcoming smile.

Leo was the first to wake up after a few hours had passed, he noticed everyone was pretty much passed out and sleeping. He only gazed at the fox in slight confusement as it was someone entirely new and him not knowing anything about them made him unsure, but he left her be as he could tell they had helped him and Casey.

Leo glanced at Casey beside him who was snoring decently loud, along with Raph who was still face planted on the ground also snoring loudly. Leo grasped his side painfully as he staggered to stand up and stopped midway when he heard rustling outside the cave, he grabbed his swords that were laying on the ground next to him and placed them back onto his strap before walking out quietly to investigate the sound.

Leo pulled his knife out, spinning it in place in his hand as he slightly crouched, approaching the sound. Coming to a sudden stop, Leo ended up face to face with a small creature, his blade pointing at it. But he only gazed at it with a mix of curiosity and confusion, it looked like a small cat but also a mix of something else.

Leo lowered his knife and peered at the corners of his eyes, "I know you're there." Leo remarked as he glanced behind him. Arna came out from behind a tree as she had followed him out from the cave to watch him, "Leonardo was it?" Arna questioned slightly as she tilted her head.

Leo only slightly glared at her, "Just Leo is fine, why did you follow me?" Arna shrugged slightly, "Because you should be resting with an injury like yours." She stated as she pointed at his side. "Well, resting isn't my strong suit." Leo remarked as he put the knife back in the sheath on his back strap, "Clearly." Arna stated as she approached him.

Arna walked past Leo and towards the small feline that only sat, staring at Leo. She crouched down in front of it and petted it as it allowed her, "This little guy is a Felynx, a mix of a regular cat and a lynx. They're pretty harmless but powerful when protective or agitated."

Leo only gave a questioning look at the two, he wasn't entirely interested at all with the feline, right now he only came out to see what it was in case it was something dangerous approaching to enter the cave, he wanted to figure out how they all ended up here and how to get back home. Leo only turned away and walked back towards the cave where the others were still sleeping.

The feline gave a small meow and quickly left the petting that Arna was giving it, Arna followed the feline with her eyes and gave a small smile as she noticed it following Leo happily.

Leo walked back into the cave and sat against a wall, he closed his eyes and crossed his arms as he would patiently wait for the others to wake up and let them rest. Arna was standing at the entrance as she continued to watch the feline as it trotted its way towards Leo and leaping into his lap, this action spooked Leo slightly as he glanced down to see.

"Seems she's taking a liking to you." Arna stated as she walked over slightly with a small smile, Leo picked up the cat and glared at it lightly, he put the creature down further away from him, "Well, I don't need a pet, needs to go back into the wild where it belongs." Leo remarked as he shoved the cat slightly towards the entrance.

Mikey shot upward with a small scream as he most likely had a bad nightmare, this spooked just about everyone as it woke up the others except Casey who continued to snore. "What, what!?" Raph shouted worriedly in surprise, Mikey relaxed when he noticed it was just a dream, "My bad… freaked out over an evil pizza party." Mikey chuckled innocently.

Everyone sighed in relief but Raph didn't like the idioticness Mikey was always pulling, Raph had marched over to him and grabbed him the cheeks angrily, "What's a pizza party gotta do about our situation!?" Raph growled as he pulled his cheeks outward.

April and Donnie both rubbed their eyes tiredly, Leo relaxed back against the wall with a slightly annoyed small sigh but glanced back down noticing the feline had returned back into his lap as it curled up and purred a bit. He let out another annoyed sigh, "Mikey, how about you take this." Leo remarked as he lifted the cat once again and showed the creature Mikey who instantly freaked out of peer adorableness, "Awwww! A kitty!" Mikey excitedly ran over and grabbed it from Leo's hands.

"A cat? It doesn't look like any ordinary cat…" April questioned as she stood up with a stretch and walked over to pet it. "That's because it isn't, it's called a Felynx, a mix of a regular cat and a Lynx, they have a magical power that makes them transform into something strong, but that only implies when they get protective or agitated, but they can transform at any time if they want to. They feel more comfortable in their regular form though, this one is a young female, blue colored one's are females." Arna explained.

The creature wiggled out of Mikey's hands aggressively as soon as April came over, it landed on its feet on the ground and quickly trotted happily back to Leo and climbed into his lap once again. "And it seems to have taking a liking to Leo." Arna added with a slight chuckle, Leo let out a small annoyed growl.

"Aww, what ya gonna name her!?" Mikey questioned happily, "We don't need another mouth to feed." Leo remarked, April only gave a small smile and walked over, crouching down and petting the cat, "I don't think she will stop following you by the looks of it, it wouldn't hurt to give her a name at least. How about, Jogo?" April said happily, trying to convince Leo to accept the creature.

Leo only gave a small glare at April as she returned it with a small innocent smile, he gave a small sigh, "Fine, but you're taking care of it." Leo stated as he picked the cat up once again and gave it to April, Jogo didn't struggle from April's arms at all, she only gave a happy look and continued to purr.

April sat next to Leo as did Mikey, "Wake Casey up." Arna said, "I think it's time for explanations and answers." She added as she pointed at Casey who was still passed out and snoring loudly and giggling as he was probably having a nice dream. "Gladly." Raph remarked, popping his knuckles as he marched towards Casey, Raph crouched down beside him, slapping him hard on the face, "Wake up moron!" Raph growled loudly, Donnie had walked over and joined the little sitting circle.

Casey instantly woke up and shot forward in surprise, he held his cheek as he could feel pain, "What!? What's going on! Last thing I remember is nothing but sand!" Casey remarked in sudden shock as he noticed everyone staring at him, "Did you seriously already forget we're in a totally new world? God, even Leo figured that out and he didn't even get a look when we arrived. You're so pathetic!" Raph growled and smacked him upside behind the head.

"Ouch! Damn man, ok ok, I get it. So what's the plan?" Casey questioned as he rubbed the back of his head, Him and Raph joined the others in the circle sitting. "Discuss our next move." Leo remarked as he moved his gaze at Arna who was going to answer everything.

Arna gave a small smile and would begin her explanation about this new world the gang had arrived at, "First and foremost, you all may call me Arna. As from this point on, I want to help you guys. And normally 99% of the time, people that arrive here, are teleported here." Donnie raised an eye, "You said this before, people were starting to uncommonly arrive here for the past year. Do you know why?"

Arna shrugged, "No clue, but I've found out that it's possible that someone or something is causing lockon teleportations on people from other worlds and teleporting them here for some unknown reason. We've also concluded that the people that have arrived here have been mostly from earth, which is trillions of light years away." "TRILLIONS!? You're joking right!?" Raph growled, Donnie sobbed lightly, "That would take millions of years to get back to if we traveled through space…" "Is there a way back through teleportation here?" Leo questioned, Arna only lowered her head sadly and shook, "Sadly no, even though this world is full of high advancements, there is still no such thing as a powerful enough teleporter to return you. Unless you know of how you came to be here?" Arna remarked as she turned her look back at Leo.

Leo confusingly glanced at April who was sitting next to him, still petting and loving on Jogo as she would continue to purr happily. He was unsure where to begin as it tended to be a large mess and situation, April noticed this and shrugged slightly as she was unsure as well but took action anyway, "Do you know what a Den Na' Vor is?" April questioned.

Arna only stared at April confusingly and shook her head, "I've heard the name once or twice, but other than that, I know nothing." Leo gave a small sigh, he was somewhat upset and April knew this clearly the most, "Den Na' Vor is like a very strong dragon thing." Mikey pointed out as he tried to draw it out with his hands and fingers.

"This one Den Na' Vor named Dragor was building a teleporter from their own world that got hidden away, he managed to build it and we tried to stop him, but he built the teleporter wrong and it caused it to malfunction… after that…" Donnie began as he and everyone else were starting to realize now.

"That's what the bright light was, the teleporter malfunctioned in a wide range, meaning it teleported us along with Xen and Dragor!" Donnie added with small excitement, "But we didn't see Dragor and Xen when we arrived…" Casey stated with confusement. Donnie only looked at him as if he was stupid, which clearly he was, "Xen and Dragor were across the room from us as we were attempting to retreat, considering we all still were together, it teleported us together in the same area, which means Xen and Dragor were teleported together elsewhere."

"So it's possible those two still could be fighting somewhere here on this planet." Raph remarked also coming to realization, "So this Dragor, he built and found the teleporter?" Arna questioned as she glanced at everyone who all pretty much nodded, "Then why not try finding this Dragor and see if he knows a way back?" Arna added.

Everyone pretty much froze and gave worried looks, Arna was confused by this and also worried as she became slightly frightened, not knowing if what she said was bad. "The thing is, he really wants us dead… especially Leo, he literally used me to get to Leo, and that's how he got… injured.." April remarked sadly, blaming even herself.

"Well, if you wish to return, it would be the only way to find out, or atleast one step closer." Arna stated, Leo sighed, Arna was right and everyone did want to get back home and as fast as possible, "So be it. Do you know how we can find Dragor?" Leo questioned, "Leo, are you insane!? Did you forget he wants us literally dead! He would most likely kill us the minute he laid eyes on us if we found him!" Raph growled angrily as he glared at Leo seriously, Leo only looked at Raph unamusingly, "For all we know, He is our only chance of getting back, and secondly, Xen probably needs us."

"Leo's right, I'm worried about Xen." April pointed out, she was just as much wanting to get back home as she wanted to do some things in regards to her lost loved one's, she also wanted to make sure Xen had won the battle if they were still fighting or if she was badly hurt or worse, just thinking of this frightened her as she didn't want to lose anyone else anymore.

Raph only growled lowly and mumbled small curse words, "Sorry Raph, but I also agree, I've gotten along pretty well with Xen. I'm just as worried and curious if she's ok." Donnie stated, "I also wanted to ask, is there really… magic here?" Donnie added as he questioned, moving his gaze back at Arna.

Arna only smirked lightly, "Oh yeah, tons of it. This place is full of it, and many mythical creatures, including dragons, but the dragons here are different from how you explain Den Na' Vors. This world is HUGE, there are multiple different continents and religions, languages as well, in a way, this place is just like earth, but much larger and fantasy. I can't explain everything, you would just have to see it all for yourselves."

Everyone looked amazed by this but was also confused as they hardly knew anything about this world and could mess up, but one thing they all knew, is that this place was dangerous. "You said you ended up the same when taking those shots, did you…?" Donnie began to question, Arna only smiled at him and nodded, "Yes, I was also teleported here. About eight years ago, I am also from earth, I was struggling to survive since I got mutated and one day I woke up here, I still to this day have no idea how I ended up here, but someone had helped me at the time to adjust to this place. And I owe them everything, but… they passed a while back." Arna remarked sadly, "That's why you're helping us…?" April questioned her sadly as she tended to feel sorry for her, Arna nodded in agreement, she tended to avoid helping people as she was so used to being away from them.

"But, that's in the past. And I am worrying about now. But before we get into further information, you all need to change, you can't go around looking the way you do now." Arna stated with a small smirk, everyone only looked at her confusingly. "I have a small hut not too far away, my own little place, full of clothing and items you can use. You'll need to wear fabrics suited for this place anyway." Arna stated as she stood up ready to go.

Everyone only agreed and followed Arna, even though she mentioned her place wasn't far, it still felt pretty far. April sobbed lightly as she and Casey were falling behind, panting lightly, "I need to exercise more…" Casey sobbed, "Leo has a broken rib and he's all the way up there following behind Arna just fine… I'm starting to think he ain't even normal." Casey added as he lowered his upper body down, drooping his arms. April only peered behind her at Casey with an unamused look on her face, "That's because he isn't, and don't you do hockey, this is just sad coming from you."

"Hockey was a way to have some fun in the meantime, I only got to play once or twice a month. Sure I go to the Ice rink to practice a lot, but I don't workout and train all day long, each day, for sixteen years like the turtles." Casey sobbed, April only rolled her eyes as she turned back around and continued to catch up to the others, "I only trained with them for a few days, and I am here holding a cat and still ahead of you, so come on you big baby!" She remarked.

Casey had practically whined the entire way to the hut, but once they had arrived, everyone was pretty much excited as they had entered and dug through multiple clothing and materials. Arna only smirked and smiled at them knowing that they would be interested, everyone was pretty much interested in the paints, April had suggested they each be represented from zodiac signs and mark themselves with the symbol and they tended to like that.

"Aww, Leo gets a cape!?" Mikey whined as he was crouched behind Leo who was sitting on the ground hammering some beads and feathers at the top of his sword hilts, Leo was practically wearing all black which was tinted blue along with feathers on the side of his scarf that were each of the colors of his brothers, he also had markings on his legs and cheeks, he only glanced confusingly at Mikey who had picked up his cape and examined it.

"Then make one yourself…?" Leo remarked as he looked at Mikey confusingly, Mikey was wearing just about all white and black, he wore a small bottom robe that was attached to his belt, had arrow like markings on his shoulders and legs along with beaded bracelets on his wrists and ankles, "Dunno how." Mikey sobbed lightly, Leo only ignored him as he continued to finish up.

"Wow, you're really stocked up, Arna." Donnie remarked as he happily was putting on a small bag on his arm, Donnie hadn't really changed much as he didn't really want to, he painted the tips of his mask tails a red, made himself a small poncho with a hood and small bags that were attached on both top parts of his arms, he also added swerved like markings on his cheeks and legs along with a neat little item placed onto his bow staff.

"Well yeah, the past eight years, I have spent wandering and learning about this place, also collecting and buying items that have just been sitting here." Arna pointed out happily, her and her good friend that had helped her when she arrived, spent a few years working together and gathering most of these materials as well, hoping they would be used someday, it made her happy that they finally weren't going to continue collecting dust, she was also amazed at how crafty and artist the turtles were with most the materials.

Casey chose to not change at all as he liked his current outfit, this bothered April slightly as his clothing weren't adjusted to this planets, but he didn't care and only refused. April also had a small poncho on with neck fur, it had small white tail ends that went all around at the bottom, she also wore fur tipped gloves and shoes but kept her shirt and pants.

Raph also didn't entirely change much, but he sure did go all out with his kunai still, he wore clothing that stretched all the way above his knee and down, including his arms, they were stayed on because of multiple red straps he tied around each, he still wore his belt with all the kunai on it but was changed around a bit as his sai's were now placed behind him into his belt instead of the sides of his legs with straps.

All the turtles finished up with paintings on their shoulders that represented their zodiac signs as Donnie had pointed each one out to them and showed them the symbols, Mikey was the only one who chose to make a necklace of it instead of painting it on his shoulder, so now he had a pizza necklace along with his zodiac symbol as a necklace. They all also kept their scarves and would refuse to remove them or replace them, they were gifts from Splinter when they were younger and pretty much never took them off, even when sleeping.

"So what's the first step to finding Dragor?" Donnie questioned as they all had exited the hut and gathered around outside of it, Arna smirked lightly "I have a couple of people in mind we can ask, we can also ask around." Arna backed up with a few happy hops, everyone just looked at her confusingly.

"Welcome to Dimension Nether!" Arna happily shouted.


	17. Chapter 17: Leeri

**Chapter 17: Leeri**

"Welcome to Leeri! The largest town in this small region!" Arna shouted happily as everyone was walking towards the town. "You sure are in a good mood." Donnie remarked as he walked up to her, giving a smile.

Arna chuckled lightly as she quickly turned around and continued towards the town, followed by Donnie. "I'm not much of a social person, so making friends is actually kinda thrilling." Arna stated somewhat with a sad tone, Donnie quickened his pace to join beside her.

"You've never had any friends or family?" Donnie questioned her, "What about that one person you mentioned when you also arrived?" Donnie added confusingly.

Arna shrugged lightly with a small sigh, "They passed away a few years back, they were the only friend and family I had, this includes even earth, I was like a stray. I am honestly glad I ended up here, I love it here."

Raph noticed something that stood out the most with this town, and he couldn't get it off his chest. Leeri had multiple turrets placed around the outskirts, all around the town, Raph came to the conclusion they were probably either for protection against large monsters or just decor, so he ignored them.

After everyone entered the town, it was practically like a heaven for shopping and exploring. There were so many stores with fancy items, materials, weapons, you name it. Donnie, Casey and Arna were all glued to a certain window of a shop, all sparkly eyed and cheeks against the glass. "Is that a future generation computer processor!?" Donnie questioned excitedly as he started to drool slightly.

"I've never seen one before close up, but yes, yes it is!" Arna remarked also excitedly, Casey was more attached to the glowing and sparkly weapons. "Dude! Since when could weapons glow!?" Casey questioned with excitement, also drooling and sobbing as he fell slowly down sadly knowing he couldn't touch it or get one.

April, Raph and Leo only stared at the three unamusingly, Mikey was playing around with Jogo behind them as she tended to enjoy playing around with Mikey's necklaces. "Ahem, sorry to interrupt you nerds, but we got business, remember?!" Raph growled angrily as he was growing impatient.

"Oh, right right! There's a bar that some of us could check out." Arna stated as she pointed down the street with a large sign above a building that literally stated bar. "I thought you knew someone you could ask." April questioned Arna, "I do, just not here. We're just stopping by here for a few supplies and to ask around too if you wanted." she added.

April shrugged slightly, "Might as well. Let's go check the bar then." April stated, she grabbed Leo's hand and dragged him along, she knew he was bothered by something and wanted to try cheering him up, Arna followed along right after with a small smile.

Everyone except Mikey and Casey followed into the bar, the place was huge and packed with people and mutants, magic was also being used around the place. "Wooaah, actual magic…" Donnie giggled lightly as excited as he was but stopped instantly the second he realized all the people, he instantly started shaking and clung to Raph.

April instantly became surprised as she noticed someone familiar, "You're kidding me… no way.." she quickly marched her way to a table where a man was sitting alone, writing and piled up with a few dozen books with some drinks. The man instantly stopped writing as he noticed April who had approached him and was standing across from him from the table, he only looked at her confusingly, "You're professor Dan, aren't you?" April questioned him as she pointed at him as well, the others followed along behind her confusingly.

The man instantly became shocked, "I knew it!" April stated happily, "Professor Dan?" Arna questioned as she gazed at April confusingly. "He was a famous book author back on earth, until he went missing four years ago." April explained, "A fan I see?" Dan stated confusingly as he glanced at April.

"I've read your books since I was a little girl, so in a way, yes. Were you… also teleported?" April questioned him, Dan sighed sadly but nodded in agreement, "It did happen four years ago, I was in the process of making my next book, but then suddenly a large bright light happened within my room, and I appeared here. I've been stuck here for four years, still writing these useless books that I've just kept with me."

April stood up straight with a small sad expression on her face, they ended up in another dead end. It seemed everyone they've encountered so far that have been teleported, was meaningless as they don't even know how they resulted into getting here after a large white flash, and no teleporter in sight like them with Dragor's teleporter.

April couldn't get the fact off her chest though as she noticed something with him, she raised an eyebrow as she looked him over. Dan noticed this and only gave her a confused expression, "You don't even look like you've changed or aged a bit…" April remarked suddenly, she covered her mouth lightly as she thought it was rude. Dan only looked at her with slight amazement, "You mean you don't know?" Everyone except Arna gave him a confused look.

"Oh yeah...I forgot…" Arna began worriedly. Everyone moved their gazes at Arna who raised a finger, "I forgot to mention, once you're teleported here and like I stated this planet affects people who aren't born here, you will not age any longer past the age you arrived here."

"WHAT!?" Raph shouted angrily, "You mean we're stuck as teens and can't grow old!? And die old!?" Raph added angrily. Arna dropped her finger innocently, "I won't hit adult puberty… Awesome!" Donnie stated excitedly but instantly dropped down frighteningly as Raph jolted a glare at him and growled, "I mean… booo." Donnie added.

"I don't know… maybe staying teens forever won't hurt." April suggested, "Just think of the bright side, not the dark side. Raph." April added as she gave a serious unamused look at him, Raph only lowly growled. "Atleast Mikey doesn't have to worry, he never really matured past eight years old…" Donnie sobbed sadly.

"And Casey when he finds out?" Leo questioned as he glanced at April, considering she knew him best. April shrugged, "Honestly, I don't think he would care, he would probably just be excited if anything. Would be best not to tell the two though."

"The fox is correct, but you still can die like any ordinary person from health issues, being killed, such as stabbed or something." Dan stated reassuringly. "How is that reassuring!?" Raph growled, Leo rolled his eyes and grabbed Raph by the scarf, dragging him out of the bar as eyes were beginning to watch and look over at them from other people because of his tantrum.

"Have you just arrived here, on Dimension Nether?" Dan questioned April as she was watching the two brothers leave. April directed her attention back at Dan, "Yeah, we've only been here a day. We're trying to find clues and a way back, but your words are the same as others, so another dead end." April stated sadly. Dan only lowered his head, "Sorry I couldn't help, but I won't lie, this place is honestly very nice, beautiful and a wonderful place to stay in compared to earth once you get a good look around."

April gave Dan a small smile, everyone was too occupied with wanting to get back home, including herself, they didn't even bother to think and reconsider about staying in a place they knew nothing about and already seemed dangerous.

April had to literally drag Donnie out of the bar as he was frightened by all the people still, he was still adjusting and working on his fear, but it has gotten better. April sighed sadly, "Dead end…" Arna glanced at her and gave a sorry expression, "At least it was one small step closer, knowing there's other people who ended up here like you guys."

April gave Arna a grateful look, she then glanced around and noticed Raph was sitting alone at a table in a resting area, she gave a small sad expression as she left Donnie and Arna and walked over to him. She sat down across from him on the other end of the table, Raph didn't even bother to look at her.

"You blame me, don't you." April questioned him, "If I and Casey hadn't showed up during the fight, Leo wouldn't have gotten badly hurt, he would've been able to help and save Splinter and Xen and we wouldn't be in this situation, right?" April added attempting to get his attention, Raph only glanced at her, "Of course I blame you. But it doesn't change the fact you're still family, Leo would've done the same for any of us even if you two didn't show up. Same goes for Splinter." Raph stated as he turned to face her, "And I can tell you and him get along very well, seems you two are just growing closer, I don't know why and I honestly don't care why, but right now he's breaking down mentally because of the loss of Splinter, and you seem to be the only one who can get through to him better than any of us now." Raph added seriously.

April was only looking him in the eyes as he talked to her, Raph pointed with his thumb behind him, showing her where Leo had left and went towards, "He went to the fields." April only gave him a small reassuring smile, she knew he was bothered by the fact they were officially stuck as teens now, the fact they wouldn't age, grow older, and die old.

Raph was confused as April sat there giving him a small smile, "We're all in the same boat, Raph. Like you and everyone else that have mentioned it to me more than enough times, we're family. We live together, we fight together, and we die together, even if it's for an eternity." April stated as she stood up, "And if a Den Na' Vor can live for thousands of years, so can we." She added happily.

Raph widened his eyes as he looked at her, now he knew, he knew why she was able to get through to Leo better than anyone else, he remembered what Donnie had mentioned before back at the lair, April was extremely good at reading people's emotions just based on their expressions, it was a gift of hers that she wasn't entirely aware of. Raph knew there was something more to it than just that though, he only quickly looked away slightly timidly and shyly, "Just go to him already…"

April only chuckled lightly as she started to walk off, Raph watched as she left and sighed as he glanced over where everyone else was, his expression instantly became annoyed and unamused as he noticed the three nerds continuing their glue fest on windows. "Will you guys knock it off! You're embarrassing!" Raph shouted at them angrily, but they continued to drool on the windows, Raph only looked away and pretended he didn't know them.

April walked out of the town and searched the fields as she glanced around, she immediately noticed Leo as he was sitting on a small hill with his hands on his knees, she could tell he was sad and devastated on the inside. She knew he was closest to Splinter and that his death had really impacted him, and the fact he couldn't do anything at the time, April had also started growing closer with Splinter with the short amount of time she spent training with him after he accepted her and Leo had convinced him.

April relaxed sadly as she stood at the outskirts of the town, she slowly walked up towards him and remembered what Raph said earlier and it made her feel sorry for Leo, she was extremely grateful for all he's done for her, not just rescue's but also the words he would say to her that would help her understand just as much as she does for him. All she could do in return was try to get through to him and cheer him up with her own words.

Leo flinched at the sound he heard behind him, he glanced back and relaxed when he noticed it was April who sat beside him, April noticed this and knew he's been having his guard down often and getting lost in thought.

Leo pointed behind him and back at the town, "Aren't you going to explore with the others?" He noticed her only give him a sulking expression and this confused him, but also scared him a bit as she was silent, he also noticed her glance at the crack on his plastron, which was caused by Dragor after receiving a hit from him and the impact which also resulted into a rib break, he knew it hurt her everytime she saw it and that she continued to blame herself even though he consulted her about it.

Leo only placed a hand over the crack to cover it and let out a small sigh knowing she was annoyed with him, Leo hardly showed any signs of pain from his rib as he continued to endure it since it happened, April knew this, and she knew it hurt him still even with how much he was not showing it. She stood up and walked in front of him, this confused Leo knowing she was up to something as she was full of multiple unexpected surprises, he instantly became surprised when he noticed her crying.

He started to worry and freak out slightly thinking it was something he did as she always resulted in crying for a reason. "A-April, if it's because of the save again-" Leo began trying to reassure her, but was put to a stop as he suddenly became even more shocked as she collapsed down and hugged him, once again.

April knew Leo was always surprised when it came to hugs, she also preferred it the most as she saw it to be the most comforting and reassuring and because she always resulted to it when she knew someone was breaking down, she's always done it since she was a little girl, even to her own parents. Even though she's already done it a few times, not just with him, he sure hasn't gotten used to it yet.

"I know Splinter's death is ruining you, Leo. But breaking down because of it on us isn't going to bring him back or solve anything, Splinter made his choice just as you and everyone else has, you keep risking your life to save mine and you have no idea how grateful that makes me, you and your brothers have helped me so much, I am not just going to idly sit by and let stuff destroy you or the others. Even if we're stuck here and there's no way back home, we still have to make sure Xen is ok. We only have each other now, we're family, right?" April sobbed sadly, hoping she convinced him and for him to snap out of it and be the fearless leader they knew.

Leo relaxed as he was listening to her, she was correct, breaking down wasn't going to help the situation at all, he drastically missed Splinter badly as he was their sensei, their mentor, guide, and father. Leo lowered his head onto her shoulder as he attempted to hold back the tears, he hated showing affection as he saw to be a sign of weakness, but this time around, it hit him hard after losing Splinter.

"I swear to god! We've spent almost the entire day here with you three being glued to shop windows!" Raph shouted aggressively as he pulled them away from a window, "We came here for supplies she said. Well look at you guys now!" he added, "Where's April?" Arna questioned, Raph growled, "Oh now you noticed she's gone, she went to go talk to Leo in the fields." "Oh no.." Arna remarked as she became shocked, this worried everyone except Mikey who was just confused, "Oh no? Oh no what?" Raph questioned, Arna pointed in the direction that the other two were in and he instantly became worried, but she was pointing at the turrets placed all around the town.

The turrets had activated and all began pointing in a general direction, "They're Leeri's defense mechanism, they only activate and start firing at anything aggressive that attacks the town." Arna explained as they all stumbled and staggered from a sudden crash impact, "We gotta get over there!" Raph shouted worriedly.

April had suddenly become shocked, Leo had grabbed and lifted her and jumped as if dodging something, and she instantly knew why. Both her and Leo gazed at a large boulder that had crashed landed right where they were sitting, if he didn't react when he did and notice it incoming, they both would've become pancakes.

She could feel Leo becoming unsteady, she knew he was in pain. "Leo, put me down! You can't with your rib!" She growled at him angrily, Leo refused as he noticed another incoming boulder, he was confused on why the boulders were coming directly at them, someone was throwing them.

"Not happening." Leo stated seriously, April became upset even more as she hated how persistent he was being, and she thought she was bad. Leo had dodged another boulder but it wasn't entirely directed at them, but the impacted wind pressure still caused unbalance and could still injure someone or worse, he almost lost balance as he landed because of the pain in his side, and because of April's persistent tantrum.

"I said, put me down! I don't care about the boulders, I'm sick of you getting hurt and suffering because of me!" April growled attempting to break out of his arms, but he was twice her strength, even with an injury. Leo glanced behind him and noticed they were pushed back closer towards the town, whoever was throwing these boulders, were throwing them randomly and attempting to hit the town, he also glanced up and noticed the turrets were activated but weren't firing at anything, yet.

"Well I care, family, right." Leo growled as he lowered himself, he noticed another attempted incoming boulder, April had shoved her hands onto his chest and attempted to push out of his arms and fall down, which she almost did and broke free but Leo had swung and tossed her out of the way and she practically face planted in the grass. April lifted herself slightly and spit out some grass, "Not like that…" she sobbed lightly and turned around quickly in worry.

Leo couldn't entirely dodge the incoming boulder, and the impact had caused him to crash into a nearby sturdy building within the outskirts of the town. All April could see was a bunch of smoke and dust after the boulder had crashed into the ground, she instantly covered her ears after the turrets began firing and they were very loud as they did.

April glanced towards where the turrets were firing and where the continuous boulders were coming, she instantly noticed a huge rock like creature that seemed extremely aggressive and angry approaching the town. "April!" A voice called out to her, April was tearing up again but glanced back to where the call came from as she recognized the voice, Arna and Mikey came rushing towards her, "Wooaahh, is that a real Rock Golem!?" Mikey shouted excitedly.

April and Arna looked at him confusingly and in surprise, "You mean the made up monsters for fantasy games and movies?" April questioned him, Mikey nodded, "Oh yeah, they are powerful! I never thought they would be real! This is awesome!"

"Yes, it's a Rock Golem, and by the looks of it, it's very pissed off for some reason and taking it out on Leeri. They're also very strong and powerful. Where's Leo? Raph said you were with him…" Arna stated as she questioned April, April gave a sad look and pointed at the building she saw him crash into, "He was thrown by the impact into the building, knowing him though, he should be fine." April remarked as she remembered what Donnie told her about him, "Because he's one hell of a fighter."

Leo was leaning against a wall, he let out a few coughs and opened an eye, realizing his situation, Leo rubbed his fingers on his cheek as he felt pain there and looked at them and noticed blood, "Damn…" he mumbled as he attempted to recover and stand but collapsed, letting out a large whimper of pain and grasping his side, his side felt excruciating more painful than before.

Leo knew instantly he must've broke another rib, he only gave an unamused expression also knowing April was going to kill him and end his saving and rescuing career. "This sure is not the way I expected us to start out here once we encountered a monster…" Leo growled lowly, Leo became slightly surprised as he noticed something at the corner of his eye, he glanced over, it was a large sword that leaned against the wall to his right.

He had also glanced out the large hole in the wall that he had crashed through, considering this building was rusty, it was falling apart. He noticed the large Rock Golem approaching the town as it still continued to throw boulders at the town randomly. If it wasn't for April snapping him out of break down, he would still be sulking and probably turned into a pancake himself, Leo clenched his teeth and staggered as he forced himself to stand.

He knew his two katana's would do nothing against a creature like that, plus they were already and still cracked since the incident with Dragor back on earth in the volcano. Leo wiped off the blood from the cut on his cheek as he walked up to the sword, he slowly placed his hand on the hilt and as soon as he touched it, certain parts of the hilt began to glow and the blade had lightning forming and generating around it. He could feel himself getting weaker the longer he held onto the sword, he instantly let go of the hilt in sudden surprise as it felt like it was sucking the life out of him.

Leo remembered everything that has happened so far, the incident with Dragor, the loss of allies because of Dragor, Splinter, and now Xen was unknowingly somewhere else on this large planet, either dead or injured, and there was only way to find out. April has been the main source lately, Dragor has used her against him and he hated it, putting innocents at risk, April has helped him countless times even though she doesn't realise it herself as she felt pathetic and weak, but her words were strong. It's usually been Donnie who would sometimes help him with his breakdowns and sulking when they did happen, but they weren't anything similar towards April's assistance and comfort.

Leo gave a small smile as he stared at the sword, "Family, right?" he grabbed the sword by the hilt as it started glowing and generating lightning once more from his touch. The family he had that was still here and living was more important, the past is the past and there is nothing he can do to change it, and right now, they needed a leader with a clear head.

Raph, Casey and Donnie halted close to the building as they noticed the Rock Golem, "Woah! A real Rock Golem!" Casey happily stated as he wiggled his arms excitedly, "Wicked!" he added. Raph noticed Leo as he was walking out of the tattered building, he spun a large blade once in hand as he walked towards the Golem, noticing the blade was magical.

Leo spit out some blood to the side, he was tired of these evil monsters getting in their way, hurting loved one's, and killing out of anger. He was going to protect his family, even if it killed him. Raph gave a small smile, he knew there and now that their fearless leader returned, April really had gotten through to him and made him realize.

Raph was about to follow and help Leo but was stopped as he noticed Arna glaring at him from the field as she was crouched down next to April who looked relieved, Arna was shaking her head and holding her paw up, showing and telling him to stay put. This confused him but came to realization on the possibility why, he instantly glanced at the sword in Leo's hand, the lightning around it continued to get stronger and larger.

April had noticed Arna's actions towards Raph, telling him to stay away and back because of the sword Leo had in his possession. Arna knew something, something about that sword, and April knew immediately it must've been a dangerous blade, it already seemed dangerous by the looks of it as is.

The Golem was literally almost near the town, only few feet from it, the Golem noticed Leo approaching below him and only let out an angry roar, Leo only glared at it as he lowered the sword back prepared for a swing, the Golem had immediately stopped and attempted to smash Leo with it's large foot.

Leo easily dodged it and blocked the impact from it with the sword, Leo was surprised that the sword acted like a shield as well as he didn't even feel the force of the impact, he quickly took action and lifted the sword and swung it at the Golems foot, literally severing it off as the blade easily sliced through the golems stone foot. Lightning quickly generated and also penetrated parts of the golem, this surprised Leo as much as it surprised all the others.

Donnie glanced up and noticed the turrets had stopped firing, was it because of Leo taking care of the problem, or something else. Donnie glanced back at the fight and noticed Leo getting weaker as he could tell he was having a hard time swinging the sword, he was also unsteady, and most likely in a lot of pain, "I think that sword is killing him…" Donnie remarked with worry, "What?!" Raph shot a worried look at Donnie, Raph was about to forcefully charge on over to help but Donnie grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

"Pretty sure he knew from the beginning, look…" Donnie began as he pointed at Leo who staggered back as the Golem collapsed onto it's knees and attempted to slam its hand onto Leo, but it failed as Leo easily sliced through the Golem's hand before impact. "He won't let loose of the sword, and he knows it's draining him." Donnie added, Raph only growled lowly.

The golem couldn't use it's one hand or knee for support any longer in order to stand or move, Leo quickly moved over slightly and placed the blade right under the neck of the golem, the golem couldn't react or dodge as it slowly fell towards the ground because of how large it was and it's head came clean off and rolled along the grass considering Leo had cut clean through its neck.

Leo was panting heavily and having a hard time breathing, everyone quickly came to a sudden froze including Leo who had glanced down at the ground below him, "What's going on?!" Mikey questioned worriedly as he wobbled around in place, the ground was shaking drastically, "Earthquake?" April questioned as she attempted to stand up.

Everyone except Raph, Casey and Donnie were affected by this, April knew it wasn't an earthquake and most likely caused by the golem in certain degree, and considering they were closer to the golem, they were also experiencing it. April glanced down as she noticed cracks forming in the ground, instantly fast and quick, she also noticed it was happening near Leo as he took a step back weakly and was glancing around at the ground.

"It's going to be a cave in! We have to move!" Arna shouted worriedly, but as soon as she finished, it was too late. The ground instantly became unstable and broke apart, causing a cave in, April and Arna were the first to fall through quickly and they hugged each other frighteningly, then Mikey and Leo fell quickly after. The golem had also slightly fell through the cave in, but was too large and didn't fully go down.

Raph and the other two instantly freaked out and rushed over except Donnie who had glanced over to notice a elderly man walking up beside him, "Dude, they fell through the ground! Now they're buried!" Casey shouted shockeningly.

The elder man only looked at the incident, "Seems they fell into a golem's cave in." Donnie stared at the man in confusion, "Golem's cave in?" The elder nodded weakly, "Yes, a golem has a special power that can cause an earthquake in a wide range, and then causing the ground to break apart and create a giant hole and then covering it with the rubble. Such as a cave in, they've been buried alive."


	18. Chapter 18: Demi-Dogs

**Chapter 18: Demi-Dogs**

Raph and Casey were running around worriedly, trying to find a way to dig the others out, but it didn't seem possible at all. Donnie only stood there as an elderly man had approached him and warned him what a Golem could do, and this Golem caused a sudden cave in the second before it died.

Leo, Mikey, Arna and April all had fallen into the cave in and got buried. "Don't worry." A voice came from behind Donnie who shot a look behind him to see who it was, it appeared to be a tall man with small chin hairs who was giving Donnie a smile as he approached.

"Damn it Charl, you just had to show up and reassure like always." The elder man growled angrily as he grouchingly limped away, "Charl?" Donnie questioned, Charl chuckled lightly, "Yep, that's my name."

Charl placed a hand on Donnie's shoulder as he still smiled, his smile was really reassuring and pleasing to see, but it also confused Donnie highly. "Don't listen to that old fool, Your friends are fine." Charl stated as he released his hand and walked past Donnie to stop and see the incident and scenery of the disaster.

"Wow, that Golem sure did a number with boulders." Charl remarked worriedly, Donnie was confused after what he said about Arna and the others being fine, the elder man had literally told him they were buried alive and with what knowledge Donnie knew about cave in's, was that they could literally crush people to death, even if someone survived it, they would still eventually die from suffocation or starvation if left for too long. "How are they fine…?" Donnie questioned Charl in confusion, wanting answers as he still didn't know hardly anything about this planet and its creatures.

Charl peered over his shoulder at Donnie, "This place used to have an underground tunnel system, and where they fell, is right above one. So they most likely fell into the tunnel without being crushed or buried, but they are trapped as the tunnel system was abandoned long ago."

Donnie worriedly looked at Charl who still had calmness in his voice and a reassuring small smile, this sorta creeped Donnie out a bit, but everything he was explaining, seemed legit. "Then how do we get them out?" Donnie asked, hoping Charl would help out or at least tell him how to get them out.

Charl turned to face Donnie with a large smile on his face, "You don't, at least not this minute." Charl remarked as he pointed at the sky, "It's getting dark, and trust me, they are safer down there at the moment until morning, there is a entrance we can go through at the other end of the town and search for them in the tunnels in the morning, you might also want to bring your two friends back into the town." Charl added as he walked past Donnie.

This frustrated Donnie, he was refusing to tell him where this entrance was and why he was waiting until morning, Donnie then began to know why though as he glanced up and noticed all the turrets activating and powering on, their barrels began to spin as if ready to start firing at something or someone. Donnie glanced at where they were all pointing at, it was the tree's and the forest area decently far from the town and the field, he could also start hearing tons of roaring and growling from the tree's area.

Donnie instantly knew Charl was warning him that something dangerous happens at night to this town, he quickly rushed towards Raph and Casey and as soon as he approached the two he grabbed them and forcefully dragged them away from the search and back towards the town.

Raph and Casey both angrily forced Donnie to let go, "What the hell man!? You seriously are not going to help find them!?" Raph growled angrily as he slapped Donnie's hand away, Donnie only angrily pointed at the tree's, the turrets began firing loud magic bullets at the tree's as soon as the sun had disappeared, it still was decently light outside as this planets nights were longer than earths and more brighter because of the night sky being more galaxy like with tons of stars, this planet also had two moons at night.

"Unless you wanna be eaten alive, I suggest we wait until morning!" Donnie growled at the two angrily, Raph and Casey both glanced at where he was pointing as the two also flinched slightly and covered their ears from the gun firing, hundreds, thousands of medium sized creatures came swarming out from the tree's angrily and charging towards the town.

Raph and Casey instantly freaked out and booked it back towards the town, "What the hell are those things!? They keep coming out from the tree's!" Casey shouted confusingly. "I dunno man!" Raph stated worriedly as they entered the town and glanced behind, "Donnie! What the hell is going on!? What about Leo and the others!?" Raph growled as he angrily gazed at Donnie.

Donnie gave an unamused look at Raph, "Those things I have no clue about, but one thing I know, those turrets only fire at things that attack the town, and those things clearly are bad news and right now were safer in town." Donnie explained about the unknown creatures that kept charging towards the town, considering the amount of them, the turrets actually kept them at bay and killed thousands before they could get close to the town at all.

"What about the others?! They could be dead for all we know!" Casey stated worriedly as he straightened from being tired of the sudden running. "They aren't dead, they fell into a tunnel system, they're safer down there than up here anyway until morning. I just hope they are ok, cause they could've gotten crushed by all the rubble." Donnie stated, "I'm worried about Leo though… he wasn't looking good at all." Donnie added worriedly as all three of them were staring at the dead golem and the cave in.

April had begun to lift herself from the ground and started coughing, she waved her hand in front of her face due to all the dust and dirt. She opened her eyes and glanced around, it was dark, too dark and she couldn't see anything. She then instantly remembered what happened, an earthquake occured and she along with Arna, Mikey and Leo all fell, but she thought she would've been buried alive.

April stood up with another cough and squinted her eyes, hoping that they would adjust to the dark, but it was pitch black, she came to the conclusion they most likely fell into a tunnel, which was lucky for them, otherwise they would've been dead right now. "Arna!? Mikey!?" April began calling for them as she straightened herself more slowly, "Leo!?"

"I'm… here.." A voice came close, April instantly directed her attention towards the voice, knowing who it was, "Arna!? Are you ok!?" April questioned her as she could hear Arna coughing as well. "Yeah, I'm good." Arna remarked as she also glanced around and realizing they were in a cave, she instantly began digging through her bag and pulling out a small torch that had green fireflies in a small cage at the tip, surprisingly they provided a bit of light.

Leo flinched awake weakly after hearing the shouts but also due to the sharp pain he suddenly felt mostly from his cheek, Leo glanced only to see that it was Jogo who was literally in his face, licking the cut on his chick. "Jogo…?" Leo remarked weakly, Leo lifted himself slightly and placed a hand on Jogo as she let out a soft happy but also worried meow.

Mikey had instantly popped out of some rubble as he happily and frighteningly shouted and letting out a cough afterward, "I'm alive!" April relaxed in relief, pleased to see that everyone was alright and not crushed. Arna had walked over towards Mikey and helped him out of the rubble only to both fall back and Arna to be crushed by Mikey landing on her, "Get… off me!" Arna shouted angrily as she flailed around under him.

"Sorry!" Mikey worriedly stated as he got off her with an innocent small smile, hoping not to get an angry shout at him. April had approached Leo and knelt onto her knees in front of him, helping him sit up, she knew he was in bad condition as he looked terrible and exhausted. She glanced at the blade that was laying on the ground close to them, the blade confused her, but she knew right away it was dangerous and was also the cause for his current state.

Leo was crossed and grasping his side tightly, he was extremely exhausted and hurt. He peered at April at the corner of his eyes as he was slumped down with his free hand on Jogo who was sitting in his lap attempting to stand on her hind legs and lick his cut but he kept forcing her down. "I know what you're thinking…" Leo remarked weakly at April.

April only sighed and glanced at his side, "You have two broken ribs now, don't you." April questioned him slightly with an angry tone as she then glanced at him, Leo only closed his eyes and didn't respond to her, she knew he did and didn't wanna say anything about it or worry her. She wasn't going to argue with him as it seemed useless, he was more immune to the scolding and anger she tended to give to the turtles.

Jogo gave up and only let out an annoyed meow as she looked at April, April only looked down at Jogo confusingly, Arna and Mikey had walked over, "I suggest letting Jogo do what she wants for you, Leo." Arna stated as she gave an unamused look at them, both Leo and April only looked at her in confusion.

Arna rolled her eyes slightly as she sat down, "Felynx's tongue and saliva are actually like a fast medicine. It can numb the injury and close it, stopping the bleeding. And by the looks of it, she wants to help you but you let her." Arna unamusingly stated as she pointed at Jogo.

Leo only gave an uninterested look and glanced at Jogo, "Well it's not like I accepted her, nor am I taking responsibility for her. I already stated we don't need another mouth to feed." Leo remarked as he had grabbed Jogo and placed her into April's lap. Jogo only refused and didn't care what he thought of her, or if he accepted her or not, Jogo let out an annoyed meow and leaped back into Leo's lap and curled up on him.

Both April and Arna smirked at him slightly. "Persistent." Leo stated as he unamusingly looked at April and pointed at Jogo, comparing Jogo to April. April angrily glared at Leo, "Oh… I'll show you persistence." April placed her thumb on her tongue and wiped it, Leo knew instantly what she was planning, "No.. don't you dare." Leo growled worriedly as he slightly leaned back, April only smirked and attempted to grab his face. Leo had grabbed her wrist and was holding it back, "That's disgusting, when's the last time you brushed!?" Leo worriedly remarked as he struggled. "I don't remember, so unless you want my gross saliva on that continuously bleeding cut, I suggest allowing Jogo to help you or let me tend to it instead of refusing the help of others. You keep getting hurt protecting me, so at least let me treat your injuries you idiot." April angrily stated as she let loose and gave him a sad expression.

Leo glanced at her hand as she stopped and then at her, he didn't say anything or really react towards it, but she had a valid point. April gave him a small smile, she knew he agreed and wasn't going to argue or be negative with her. Arna also gave a small smile, "Well, I'm glad we came to an understanding, but we're also stuck down here until morning. Plus, you're in no condition to really continue moving about." Arna stated as she pointed at Leo.

April knew this already as she glanced at him worriedly, he looked terrible and exhausted like he was about to pass out, and she also knew the cause but so did someone else. April angrily glared at the sword Leo had come across that was laying on the ground not too far from where they all were sitting, "What even is that blade that made him this way?" April questioned as she moved her angry look at Arna and pointed at the sword.

Arna moved her look towards the sword and let out a sigh, she stood up and walked towards the blade and leaned down as she grabbed it and picked it up by the hilt. This action surprised Leo slightly as he remembered just touching the sword anywhere would activate it and drain him, Arna noticed this instantly as he was the first she looked at when turning around.

"So you knew, but still proceeded to use it." Arna stated as she walked back over, Leo only looked at her confusingly, so did the other two. "This is a magic sword, there's only so many of it's kind left, they all were deemed too powerful and dangerous as it can drain the users energy and life away from just touching it. Not many are able to control their energy and control the blade, like an on or off switch, so many died using these weapons." Arna explained as she tilted the blade slightly showing it off.

"Yet you're touching it and nothing is happening…" April confusingly remarked, tilting her head. Arna smirked slightly, "You have to have magic power in you for such a weapon like this to even work." Arna pointed at Leo, "You clearly have some extremely powerful magic power in you with how easily you cut that golem up like it was a slice of cake. I on the other hand do not have any, so I've always carried important and resourceful items in the bag I always have on my back that I can use as an advantage or for help."

April and Leo looked at eachother, "Elder blood?" April questioned, Leo only shrugged, that was just blood vessels that enhanced his own and made his body slightly more stronger, he didn't see that as a power source in his system. Arna moved her gaze at Mikey who was pretty much not listening as he was attempting to pick his nose but couldn't as his fingers were too large, "Mikey, put your hand on top of the hilt." Arna asked him as she leaned the hilt towards him.

Mikey stopped and only looked at it confusingly but did it anyway, he placed his hand gently on top of the hilt, the parts that glowed before when Leo had it had turned into an orange glow, orange smoke began to come from the blade of the sword but instantly stopped as Mikey had instantly felt drained and collapsed back with a tired moan.

Everyone looked down at him confusingly, "Mikey only lasted like two seconds… that is sad. Leo lasted just about five minutes or longer… I'm honestly surprised you're still conscious." Arna stated as she moved her gaze at him with a small surprised look. "Does it actually shorten your lifespan?" April questioned worriedly as she glanced at the blade and back at Leo.

Arna lowered the blade and rested it on the ground, "No, even if it did, it wouldn't really affect our lifespan considering we don't even age anymore and stuck to the age we are now. I've been stuck as a twenty four year old fox for all the years I've been here since I arrived. But it seems like your limit is five minutes, Leo, If you exceed this limit, it can and will kill you."

Leo glanced at April as he knew she instantly refused to let him use it considering she gave him an ugly and also worried expression, the other's would most likely as well. Leo knew she wouldn't be happy with his choice, he moved his gaze back at Arna, "And if I can control it?" Leo questioned her, Arna shrugged slightly, "It's possible, but extremely hard to control or even overcome what this blade is capable of. Over time you might be able to, so long as you don't go over your limit, but even once you hit your limit, you'll still be exhausted and unable to do much, but you yourself are persistent as well and won't go down easy."

April chuckled lightly as she held it back, Arna was correct, and it seems this whole gang is persistent. Leo let out a small annoyed growl at April who only looked away with a small smile, April moved her look back at Arna, "You said we're stuck down here until morning, does that mean we can't leave until morning, or…?" Arna was being serious this whole time, she has been since arrival and has been very helpful since they all arrived with how this planet seemed to work, "Demi-Dogs." Arna stated as she pointed up at the ceiling.

"Demon Dogs?" Leo questioned as he and April looked at her confusingly. Arna shrugged lightly as he was partially correct, "Kinda, more like demon looking dogs, but they're more like vampire's than demons. They are in huge packs, they can travel in hundreds to thousands or even millions, and they are pretty common here in this area, they always show up at night and those gun turrets around the town keep them out and kill them off every night they show up." Arna explained a bit about them, they were slightly too deep underground to hear any current turrets firing.

"They are brutal if they get you, they will literally rip your skin off and gang you, like a hoard of bees attacking you or zombies and suck your blood dry. One bite from one of them can cause immense pain as they inject a certain venom into your system to cause you enough pain to stop moving and collapse from it. The venom doesn't kill, it wears off after awhile if you actually manage to endure it and escape or win." Arna stated as she gave a small wave, "If you're lucky and don't run into a pack of them that is." she added.

April and Leo were giving her a disgusted and worried look as she explained what these type of creatures were like and could do, "So you're saying… these Demi-Dogs are right above right now?" April questioned worriedly. Arna nodded in agreement, "Oh yeah, thousands are probably coming out from the tree's nearby and attempting to make their way to the town. But those turrets can fire extremely fast and take them out easily so not one can make it towards the town, they are dumb too, all they think about is killing and eating, not intelligent creatures unlike the Z-Dog."

"Z-Dog? Zombie Dog?" April asked. Arna smiled, "Yep, they are pretty intelligent like Jogo there, they are also very rare like Jogo. Unlike the way most people see and think of zombies as killing machine's, the Z-Dog isn't really one, it only kills when it's hungry and they're actually pretty harmless and friendly." "Very rare? You mean Jogo is alone?" Leo questioned as he placed a hand behind Jogo's ear and petted her as she began to purr. "I wouldn't say alone for her species, there are more like her, but her species vanished a few years back, they are extremely rare to see and come across, let alone having one become attached to you the way she does with you and I do not know why she did honestly. Some say they all died out and only a few are left, some also say they vanished into hiding in a hidden place and rarely come out, no one really knows what happened to all the Felynx's." Arna stated as she was unsure herself.

"Maybe they're becoming extinct? Like the dinosaurs did, are they being killed or hunted constantly?" April questioned as she had also reached over to pet Jogo as she felt bad and sorry for Jogo knowing she probably wanted someone to follow and befriend, probably feeling and being alone was devastating for her. Arna shrugged, "As far as I know about Felynx's, they used to peacefully coexist with us mutants and humans. Like the Z-Dog I explained, they only kill when hungry, aside from that, they're extremely harmless and very friendly unless they feel threatened or are attacked, then they can be very dangerous and powerful."

April only smiled as she didn't question anymore about Jogo's species, she only gazed at Jogo and happily petted her as she was purring and enjoying the attention, "Well, i'm glad you chose to be with us Jogo." April remarked happily, she loved Jogo even though she welcomed herself into the group and family and she honestly didn't mind as she and Mikey both wanted her when she chose to follow Leo. Though she herself didn't know why Jogo was more attached to Leo than the others, she would continuously follow him and be with him and even occasionally beg for food from him instead of the others, she practically ignored the others.

Jogo would always be with Leo all the time, though when Leo wasn't around and she would lose him, she always went to April next and then Mikey, she enjoyed playing with Mikey as well usually but would also instantly stop when Leo left or walked off somewhere. April and Arna were both confused with this, so was Leo himself on why she was so attached to him, but she posed no threat and was just always so caring and loving and April was mostly the one to notice it and appreciate it.

Arna let out a small sigh, "Well we all might as well rest for a while, seems we're in the old tunnel system." Arna glanced down at Mikey who was pretty much passed out still from when touching the sword, "Tunnel system? Didn't think there would be any in this world to be honest, considering its all fantasy and magical…" April remarked confusingly.

"Yeah, Leeri built an old tunnel system to hide in from the Demi-Dogs before they made the turrets many many years back. I'm surprised it's still here, if not for it, we would probably be dead, crushed and buried." Arna stated as she readjusted her sitting position. "There is a way out though, right?" April questioned worriedly as she also glanced at Leo who by now allowed Jogo to tend to his cut as she had climbed up and rested on his shoulder, and Arna was correct about Jogo, the cut had already stopped bleeding and closed.

"Sure there is, but were also pretty far from the entrance itself in order to get out, it would take quite a bit of a walk, that's why I suggest we rest first, even if we left now and exited back to the top, Demi-Dogs would be waiting for us to pick us off easily." Arna explained, giving a valid and accurate point, though she feared these tunnels a bit considering they were so old and would love to leave asap but Leo was in no condition to be up and moving, let alone walking with two broken ribs and almost drained from the sword, he was most likely in a lot of pain but just wasn't showing it, plus Mikey was passed out and most likely would be for awhile.

April sighed slightly but agreed, Leo didn't really state otherwise or show any negative terms towards it and Mikey was just passed out with a small smile on his face, most likely dreaming about some weird and dumb stuff.

"Donnie! We can't just sit around here and do nothing!" Raph growled angrily at the top of his lungs, the three were pretty much all sitting at a bench all devastated on what they witnessed. Raph had slammed his fist on top of the bench table which frightened Donnie and snapped him out of daydreaming and thinking, Casey was practically face planted on the table, mumbling to himself sadly.

Donnie gave a frightened and confused expression at Raph who was overwhelmingly glaring at him as they all could just still hear the turrets firing at the creatures they saw come out of the tree's constantly. "Did you hear me!? We can't just sit here all night! Did you forget nights in this damn dimension last way longer than back home, we can't sit here for twice as long until morning!" Raph growled.

Donnie didn't change his expression, though he slightly slumped and relaxed, seemed Raph was wanting answers from Donnie who was the brains of them currently, and Donnie knew Raph was very worried about Leo and April, so was he himself. Raph was supposed to be the second oldest but he was seemingly looking up towards Donnie for permission, Donnie only moved his gaze away from him slightly.

"I don't know, Raph. You gotta also remember, this place, this world is very different and we hardly know anything about it. Just marching off and searching wouldn't help the situation at all, we don't even know what those things are, let alone where the entrance to the tunnel system is." Donnie stated otherwise which upsetted Raph even more who let out an annoyed growl.

"I've been looking for you three!" A voice came up from behind Donnie who instantly shot a look behind and noticed who it was. "Charl?" Donnie questioned surprisingly as he followed Charl with his eyes who came to sit down and join them on the bench. "You guys aren't from here and don't know what's going on, do you?" Charl questioned as he moved his look back and forth from each one of them.

Donnie lowered his head into his arms on the table and gave an agreed nod. "Where's the entrance and what are those things!?" Raph growled as he was primarily wanting answers this instant. Charl only looked at Raph unamusingly, showing no affection towards his strong anger, "The entrance is right at the outskirts of the tree's at the other end of town where all the Demi-Dogs are literally popping out of, so unless you still want to go and be hoarded by thousands of Demi-Dogs, I suggest waiting till morning."

"Demi-Dogs? That's what those creatures were?" Casey questioned who had straightened himself and gazed at Charl. "They're vampire blood sucking demon dogs, they travel in groups of up to hundreds, thousands or even millions. They're capable of duplicating themselves and multiplying by constantly mating after every nightly raid, that's what the turrets are for. They absolutely hate the sunlight, they burn to a crisp in the sunlight, just like your ordinary vampire." Charl explained as he raised a finger in the air and made a circle, referring to the fact these Demi-Dogs come out from the trees all around the town, so there was really no way or point of getting towards that entrance until morning came around and they were all gone.

"How do people sleep at night…" Casey sobbed lightly as he lowered his head onto the table and covered his ears with his hands, frustrated with how loud and constant the turrets were firing, and the fact this is what happens almost every night for this town. Charl only chuckled lightly, "Wow you guys really don't know anything… People here have magical sound cancelers they can place in their homes. It blocks out the turret's loud gun firing so they can all sleep at night, including the motels here, you can only hear the turrets when you're outside the buildings here in Leeri."

Raph gave up and was practically pouting as he also tucked his head into his arms on the table, they had no choice but to wait out until morning came around, it was like a massive hoard of zombies trying to infiltrate a heavily armored base.

April had snapped her eyes open and shot upward giving an annoyed small growl, her, Arna and Leo, including Jogo had all pretty much decided to sleep until morning. But April couldn't sleep due to the fact Jogo had suddenly woken her up with her constant growling and hissing, April shot a gaze at Jogo and instantly became worried when she saw how Jogo was acting. The small firefly torch Arna had out still was providing light the entire time in the small cave they were in as it pretty much rested against the wall.

Jogo was standing in front of Leo who was passed out on the ground, she was all puffed up and in a defensive stance, continuously growling and hissing in a general direction and being protective. April moved her gaze towards where Jogo was directing her defensive attention, it was towards one of the open tunnels and as soon as she looked, she noticed a shadow and movement.

With how silent it was as well with only the angry protective sounds coming from Jogo, she had heard small growling coming from the tunnel. April instantly turned herself and shook Arna awake, Arna woke up and almost gave an annoyed angry shout but was shushed by April. Arna only gave April a tired confused look, but instantly knew why she had woken her up as Jogo was constantly hissing and growling still towards the open tunnel.

A sudden loud growl could be heard from the tunnel as it was slowly approaching, "Demi-Dog!" Arna stated silently and frighteningly as she reached for her bag next to her. April tried to wake up Leo as she shook him lightly and called to him silently, but he wasn't responding at all. She thought he was a light sleeper, but seemed to not be the case, she tried again and this worried her as he wasn't giving any kind of response. "Leo isn't waking up…" April worriedly remarked as she gave a worried look back at Arna who was digging through her bag.

"Nor will Mikey if you tried. They're both out cold and deeply unconscious, it happens to anyone who uses that magic sword for the first time. They won't wake up no matter what you do for a while, that's why I said I was surprised when Leo was still conscious." Arna stated. April still was worried as she glanced at him, even so, he was still badly hurt, she instantly jumped slightly when another loud sudden growl came from the tunnel, this time it was much closer. "Arna… I hope you have something to go against a Demi-Dog…" April remarked frighteningly, lowering herself.

"I'm trying to find it… I can't…" Arna was struggling to find whatever it was in her large bag, she had a ton of stuff in there as is. The Demi-Dog had already arrived as it slowly walked out and peered around the corner with its glowing red eyes, it instantly spotted the small group and also because it was hearing Jogo's constant hissing, The Demi-Dog instantly had its instincts take over as it was all about killing and attacking for them, it immediately darted and charged at them, letting out a large growl and snap.

April instantly became frightened and tightly closed her eyes not ready for the attack, but the attack never came. April opened an eye to see what had stopped the incoming attack only for both her and Arna to be shocked as they heard continuous fighting. It was Jogo, or was it, a large winged wolf had suddenly grabbed the Demi-Dog mid air as it had attempted to leap at April and Arna, it was Jogo as April peered around and noticed she was gone from where she previously was.

April was completely shocked at what she and Arna were witnessing, Jogo had grabbed the Demi-Dog by the neck mid air and instantly was dragging the creature and swinging it around in her mouth as she was twice its size. The Demi-Dog wailed painfully as it was being thrown around, it then managed to break free from Jogo's grasp and the two collided into one another, attempting to bite each other as they snapped and dodged.

Jogo leaped back slightly, causing the Demi-Dog to slightly loose balance but quickly landed back on all fours and recovered. But Jogo had also quickly reacted, she made a large spin and used one of her wings, slapping the Demi-Dog with it, sending the creature tumbling towards the ground as it whimpered loudly from the impact. The Demi-Dog instantly recovered as it toppled back onto its feet, where it and Jogo both came down to a stand off, growling at each other.

"Jogo might have an advantage in size… but…" Arna began worriedly, April only glanced at her worriedly and confused, "What!? But, what?!" April questioned as she wanted to know instantly, "Demi-Dogs may be small, but they are still like a vampire, and what do vampire's have on their side?" Arna remarked as she glanced at April, April instantly came to realization as she shot her gaze back at the fight worriedly, "Speed and strength…"


	19. Chapter 19: Demi-Dogs (Part 2)

**Chapter 19: Demi-Dogs (Part 2)**

April was astonished at what she was witnessing in front of her, Jogo had literally transformed herself into a large winged wolf in order to protect the small group stuck in a tunnel system for the night due to so called Demi-Dog creatures that came out in massive hoards at night, and only to have one of them wander straight to them.

Arna was not entirely impressed or shocked herself, she somewhat expected it as she did mention that Felynx's tended to become dangerous once they became protective or agitated. And she practically knew more than any of the turtles, Casey and April herself about this Dimension, though seeing something like this actually happening before her eyes was pretty amazing compared to how boring earth was.

April was honestly starting to like it here as she slowly was beginning to compare it to earth based on what she's seen and knows of so far, though she would most likely regret the thought later on.

Arna became worried and frightened suddenly and April noticed this instantly as she was frantically digging around in her bag still, "What? What's wrong?" April questioned her worriedly, knowing something was wrong.

Arna peered into the bag looking with her eyes but gave a sad and worried expression as she moved her gaze back at April, "I don't have the item in order to defeat a Demi-Dog… I don't know where it went…" April only looked at her confusingly as she didn't entirely understand what this item could be, but even so, it was something that could've been helpful considering the only protection they had was Jogo and both Mikey and Leo were literally passed out due to the magic sword.

Both Arna and April moved their gazes towards the fight as they heard a loud yelp from one of the two, the fight had continued and of course the Demi-Dog was the first one to take action and continue it. It was much more nimble all of a sudden, but Jogo managed to keep up with the creature, though not by much.

Jogo was unable to dodge an incoming attack, the Demi-Dog quickly ran across back and forth twice around Jogo and then leapt off the side of the cave wall for a good boost, when it came to using their enhanced speed and strength, they sure as hell knew how to use it. The Demi-Dog managed to grab hold of Jogo with its front paws, then biting down on one of Jogo's front legs.

Jogo let out a large yelp and began to frantically try and break free, though for such a small creature, its strength was greater as she was unable to break free and continued to struggle. Jogo began to whimper constantly, both Arna and April knew right there and then she had been injected with the venom that Arna warned them about, which caused a great amount of pain, usually to the point of making that victim immobile.

Jogo was slowly weakening and struggling less and less, she was attempting to endure the pain and the Demi-Dogs strength that still pinned her down, but the venom became stronger each passing second. April quickly looked at Arna worriedly, "You gotta have something!?" April's expression became a slightly surprised one when she noticed Arna was already digging through her bag a second or third time, continuously and frantically looking for that item, though she still was having no luck.

Though April knew a bit of self-defense, it still wouldn't do any good against a creature like this, in fact, any creature or being they've encountered so far. Leo has pretty much always managed to find ways to defeat or escape most new encounters, such as the golem, and also thanks to the help of Arna. Though based on what they've learned and the founding of the magic sword Leo used, was that he could only use it once a day for a max of five minutes, any longer than that would kill him literally. Both her and Arna felt useless at that point, Arna was no fighter, she was more of an item carrier and a guide.

Jogo finally became immobile, though not fully as she still resisted slightly, mostly due to the fact she didn't return to her original form. The Demi-Dog let loose of Jogo's leg and snarled as it leaned towards a kill bite, the neck. Jogo was frequently whimpering with the amount of pain she was in due to the venom, she only weakly glared at the Demi-Dog that was about to finish her off, she was completely immobile now and couldn't defend herself any longer, Jogo closed her eyes and looked away slightly, showing acceptance to her defeat.

April was about to jolt to a sudden stand and run over to Jogo and hopefully scare the Demi-Dog off or away from her, though it never happened as she and Arna both became suddenly shocked at what they just witnessed before them. As soon as the Demi-Dog went in for the bite, it was pierced and pushed off Jogo, thrown towards the cave wall, with a sword.

April knew instantly due to the sword and the perfection of the accuracy, she quickly turned around to look behind her, it was Leo, he had thrown the magic sword directly at the Demi-Dog, piercing it directly in the chest as it wailed and hang off the wall as the blade stuck into it with the creature still attached to the blade.

The Demi-Dog frantically cried out, giving out hyena like sounds of pain as blood poured out of its mouth and chest. April and Arna were speechless, though April noticed firstly that Leo was in bad condition, especially using that sword a second time in the span of one day, he looked really exhausted and slightly pale as he slowly panted out of exhaustion. Leo instantly collapsed onto his knees, grasping his injured side tightly, he was barely able to stay awake, and despite this, he still fully managed to throw that large sword with such strength and accuracy.

April was about to rush to him, but he stopped her before she could even stand. "I'm...fine!" Leo growled weakly as he pointed towards Jogo worriedly, April only gave him a worried look, he was in worse condition than Jogo herself, but she wasn't going to argue with him.

April stood up quickly and turned back around, she noticed Jogo had transformed back into her little feline form as she was somewhat tightly curled up into a small ball, still giving small painful whimpers. April knelt down onto her knees next to Jogo and gently petted her, providing her with comfort and then glanced at the Demi-Dog that was stuck against the wall due to the sword that was pierced through its chest and into the wall itself a bit, it took its last breath finally as it fell limp.

Arna was by Leo's side as April went to go help Jogo as Leo requested her too, she glanced down at him, she was honestly amazed at how persistent he was and how much he could endure, let alone the fact he was suppose to be completely unconscious and unable to wake up for sometime due to that happening to anyone who uses a magic weapon such as that sword for the first time, and then again, he still was awake after using it a second time.

Jogo was lifted into April's arms as she had picked her up gently and walked back towards Arna and the other two, Leo had collapsed once again and fell unconscious, that was to be expected as Arna gradually had a hand on his shoulder and checked him over to make sure he was fine.

Aside from the fact he now had two broken bones, he was pretty much just extremely exhausted and drained, just needing some sleep and rest. Mikey was practically snoring away as he still was passed out after just touching the magic sword, April and Arna themselves were pretty tired as they were literally woken up and couldn't entirely rest due to this Demi-Dog that pondered in to bite their heads off, or at least attempt to if not thanks to Jogo and Leo.

April sat down close to Arna and Leo as she gradually petted Jogo and gave her reassuring comfort, "The venom will wear off in a few hours." Arna remarked as she sat up and looked at April, reassuring her. April already knew she would, but she hated seeing her in such pain, she hated seeing anyone in such pain as she tended to feel strong pity for them and wish there was something she could do to reduce it or get rid of it for them right away. But knowing she couldn't do such a thing, she only knew the only thing she could do was give comfort and let them know they aren't alone.

"I thought these tunnels were clear from the Demi-Dogs?" April questioned as she glanced at Arna confusingly. Arna lowered her head and sighed lightly, she herself was unsure how it got here, but she had suggestions, "It's possible it accidentally got stuck within the tunnels, or it found an opening entrance and accidentally wandered in. The fact it was alone though makes me worried and confused as they always tend to be in groups, so it most likely got separated somehow. So in a way as well, we got lucky."

April remembered that Arna stated that these tunnels were old, so there was a chance there were other entrances that could've been made throughout the years as it seemed like the tunnel stayed standing and intact pretty well. "How long until morning?" April asked as she didn't entirely know how long the days and nights lasted in this dimension, Arna shrugged and considering they were stuck underground, she couldn't tell.

But based on how much time has passed since they last fell in, "I'd have to say perhaps… eight to nine hours, maybe more?" Arna stated as she tried to add up and think it over, nights lasted longer than day here in Dimension Nether, way longer, so it was pretty much almost always feeling like it was dark and night time here. Which was also an advantage to anything nocturnal, such as the Demi-Dogs and this place already seemed like the type of fantasy place that was kill or be killed, hunt or be hunted during the nights in video games.

Just as Arna remarked, it did take a good and solid eight to nine hours until day hit. They all managed to sleep finally throughout the rest of the hours and get some rest without anymore Demi-Dogs showing up out of random.

Leo pretty much just sat criss crossed with his head slightly lowered as he grasped his injured side while waiting for April to wake up Mikey who still was dozed off and having strange dreams, Jogo was all better and layed in Leo's lap as he genuinely petted her with his free hand.

April tried shaking Mikey awake and even resulted in slapping him, he still wouldn't budge, but he giggled lightly from the slap she did and that angered her. April turned and faced Arna who was reorganizing her bag as she waited, "Does that magical bag of yours have pizza in it?" April asked angrily.

Arna shrugged with an annoyed sigh and shook her head as she continued her organizing, April yielded her direction to Leo, "He's your brother, how do I wake him!?" Leo shrugged, "As of right now, the only thing that would work is the smell of delicious food. Otherwise we would have to wait for him to wake up on his own, I would carry him but I can't."

April resulted into a sad expression with what he remarked, he couldn't carry Mikey in his condition with two broken ribs, nor could Arna considering she was smaller than any of them, April was too frawny and a toothpick and she knew she couldn't. April figured Jogo could if she would be willing to transform into wolf form, but she wasn't going to bother to ask her considering she came to the thought that transforming might drain her and/or would be uncomfortable, especially with what she went through during the night.

April growled lowly as she became annoyed, she resulted to one last measure on what Leo said and directed her attention back at Arna. "Got any food?" April questioned her as she raised an eyebrow slightly, Arna looked at her confusingly, "Nothing that smells good…" April shrugged with a small sigh, "This is Mikey… anything will smell good to him and he'll eat pretty much anything…"

Leo had a small smirk on his face because April wasn't wrong, Mikey was strange in his own ways but it was also interesting and weird. Arna noticed this expression from Leo and gave a small sigh as well as she reached into her bag and pulled out something semi-small, "A cooked frog leg perhaps?" April glanced at Leo for an answer to see if that would work, but he only slumped his head back down with a small smile still, he didn't know himself if a frog leg would work as it was always pizza that was the charm.

April rolled her eyes slightly and snatched the piece of food, it for sure had a smell to it, the smell of sitting in a bag far too long. April put it close to the front of his nose, and of course, Mikey immediately snapped his eyes open to the smell of the food and slowly raised himself like a mummy out of a coffin and it creeped her out a bit honestly. Mikey snatched the frog leg from April's hand quickly and munched on it with a smile on his face and letting out delicious sounds, everyone else had a small disgust look on their faces.

"You realize you just ate a leg of one of your cousins… right?" Arna remarked disgustly, Mikey instantly came to realization and heard what Arna said and instantly began to freak out and hang his tongue out, "Nooo! Im sorry! Not my cousins!" Mikey sobbed. "I am never touching a frog leg again…" April sobbed lightly as she stood up slowly, but she was glad it worked as she didn't want to stay stuck down here in the tunnels any longer.

April walked over to Leo and offered her hand to help him, Mikey was crawling and following Arna around as she had already finished organizing her bag so that she could find stuff easier and he was wanting something to drink to wash out the frog leg he ate. April gave Leo a gentle look and small smile, Leo returned it with a subtle one and gave a small sigh as he accepted her offer, Leo came to the conclusion that he himself was persistent when it came to protecting and injuring himself, but April was far more persistent when it came to conversations and large words, he knew he would never win in an argument against her now.

Jogo trotted behind the small group as they all made their way through the tunnels, following Arna as she knew about these tunnels best. Arna was unsure herself as the tunnels were like a maze in case Demi-Dogs managed to slip in like the one during the night, but she tried her best to remember the map her good friend showed her of the old tunnel system here, and considering she got rid of it long ago, she had nothing to go back to and take a look at.

April noticed the magic sword carried on Leo's third strap over his left shoulder on his back, they all resulted into calling the sword the LynBlade instead of just a magic sword. She honestly despised the blade as it could kill Leo the longer he used it over his limit, though it also helped them against the enemies they've encountered so far and would unlikely be able to defeat if not for the LynBlade, so she let it slide for now and looked away from the blade as she was walking behind Leo who followed right behind Arna who was struggling.

April became annoyed a bit as Mikey would not stop moaning behind her, wanting water as he was thirsty. Though she didn't have contempt for it, she was also thirsty and so were the others most likely, also hungry as they all hadn't eaten or drank anything since they arrived at Leeri, and thanks to the sudden golem showing up, it became a nightmare.

"You're lost aren't you?" Leo questioned Arna who immediately resulted into a sad sigh, "I'm sorry… It's been forever since I last reviewed the map for the tunnels, and I never actually came to them in person to see for myself." Leo gave a small subtle smile as he placed a hand on Arna's shoulder reassuring her not to blame herself or be mad at herself as he did not, "We'll just keep searching then." Leo stated as he took the lead.

Leo was slow, and it wasn't because of his ribs, it was the fact he was cautious and monitoring every surrounding of the tunnel they were in, he was scanning for cracks, crevices, holes, and anything that seemed off, he was tracking, finding the way out by looking at claw marks and footprints left from the old people or the Demi-Dog that wandered in. Arna didn't even think of this as it most likely wasn't possible down here with how old the tunnel system was, but he was proving her wrong as they were all beginning to feel fresh air and breathe easier knowing they were getting closer.

Leo and the others instantly jolted to a stop as they suddenly heard voices, Mikey ran up front and next to Leo as they both became defensive and protective of Arna and April. April glanced down and noticed Jogo standing right next to her, just flickering her tail and hardly reacting to the voices, April relaxed herself as Jogo was always strange but always correct with her positions when it came to expected threats. Leo and Mikey also relaxed when the voices came closer and louder and were more clear, and understandable as they recognized them immediately.

"I'm going to blame you if we find them dead!" Raph shouted angrily as he, Donnie, Casey and Charl were in the tunnels finally able to search for the others. Raph was squishing Donnie's cheeks angrily as he cried and sobbed painfully, Casey was just chuckling away as he followed behind but both him and Raph came to a sudden stop.

Donnie rubbed his cheeks with a small sob as he raised himself confused of why it got quiet all of a sudden, Donnie immediately bursted into tears, "Leeeoooo!" Donnie rushed at him with his arms held out, Leo stepped back slightly not wanting the hug due to his ribs but he got it anyway as Donnie was too relieved to see him and get Raph off of him. Donnie hugged him tightly as he cried, Leo painfully endured the pain as he patted Donnie to reassure him, "D-Don, ouch… watch the ribs…" Leo sobbed weakly.

"We thought you guys were dead, buried alive!" Raph growled, "Yeahh, until Charl here showed up and told us about the underground tunnel that you guys most likely fell into and were ok." Casey added. "I wouldn't say….ok…" Leo sobbed, "Donnie… for the love of.. Just let go…!" Leo growled painfully.

"Dude, you should've seen it up top during the night, it was wicked!" Casey mentioned as him and Mikey instantly reunited into their strange talk. "Well you should've seen it down here last night, had a Demi-Dog come across us." Arna stated unamusingly, Charl tilted his head, "Just one?" He questioned her.

Arna nodded hesitantly, "Just one, thanks to Jogo and Leo, it's dead. But the fact it was alone bothers me and I feel like it wasn't alone unless it really did accidentally come across the tunnel." Arna still was uneasy though, primarily from the fact of the weird sounds the Demi-Dog made during its fight with Jogo, including during its death, she never remembered a Demi-Dog making hyena chuckle sounds before like the one did back in the cave, were they evolving?

Charl noticed that Arna was disturbed by this, she couldn't stop giving an unamused and confused expression of complete deep thinking. April had to help get Donnie off Leo as he was practically clinging to him and still sobbing because of Raph threatening and bullying him along the way and Leo usually was always the one to stop Raph, but he also was worried about his older brother.

Charl walked up to Arna and placed a hand on her shoulder which made her jump slightly and breaking her out of thought, he gave her a reassuring look, "Well, why don't you all come on up and eat something, it's the least I can do for taking care of that golem." Charl stated as he glanced at everyone. Mikey immediately sobbed happily as he was pretty much the only one remotely showing that he was starving and thirsty.

After a short walk and leaving the tunnel systems finally after being stuck all night, they all received some breakfast to eat as much as they wanted thanks to Charl who offered it as a thanks for taking down the golem that came unexpectedly. Arna went to talk to Charl alone for sometime, April knew she was most likely warning him about the Demi-Dogs from the fact it could most likely be them evolving into something smarter and stronger compared to how she originally them to be, though April honestly was too worried about it as they all were leaving Leeri anyway after they all finished eating.

April tapped Leo on the shoulder to get his attention, he had a piece of bacon sticking out of his mouth as he wasn't really eating and was primarily lost in thought, just as she was a minute ago. He looked at her confusingly not knowing what she wanted but she pointed at Arna and Charl off in the distance, "You're good at observation, no? Can you read lips and know what they're saying?" April questioned him.

Leo broke off part of the bacon as he glanced at Arna and Charl, "You still suspicious of Arna?" He questioned her as he glanced back down at her and raised an eye confusingly. April shrugged slightly, "Not Arna." She gave an unsure glance at Charl, "I've honestly been feeling some weird presence following us for a while now since we arrived here, he gives off that same presence a bit."

April wasn't one to lie, like at all unless it was necessary, Leo too was feeling something off of someone following them, but he was too much down in the ditch to bother taking any precaution, so he didn't question her. Leo stared over at Arna and Charl, due to the fact Charl's back was facing them, he couldn't make out anything he was most likely saying but he focused on Arna as he munched on some more bacon.

"She's just warning him about the Demi-Dogs possibly evolving." Leo began, April shrugged again slightly with a small sigh, "Well I figured that much out already." Leo glanced down at April, "And something about an elder, that's all I can make out." April looked at him confusingly but he only shrugged at her not knowing himself as he turned back to finish eating, April had already pretty much ate enough and she couldn't stop glancing over at Charl, she just felt something really off about him.


	20. Chapter 20: Emberheim

**Chapter 20: Emberheim**

After a good meal, the gang were all ready to set out as soon as Arna had also finished chatting with Charl. April couldn't stop thinking and getting Charl out of her head, Leo knew it was bothering her and considering her intuition and predictions were always correct, he believed her and also kept a close eye on Charl. Though considering Jogo hardly reacted to him, April started to think she was wrong as Jogo was far better at sensing someone's presence if they were bad or not, so she sorta just let it be.

They all stood at the outskirts of Leeri and all almost waved their goodbye's to Charl who waved them off. "Where to now, and who is it we're looking for?" Donnie questioned as practically everyone had their gazes on Arna, she only glanced around surprisingly not liking all the eyes on her, Leo smirked at this slightly, glad he wasn't the only one.

Arna sighed lightly, "We're checking out a town called Emberheim, it's where I last heard he was. He as in The Elder, no one knows his real name, even me, but he knows alot about this dimension and new arrivals usually. Emberheim is only a few hours away and I heard rumors that there was a planned attack on it, though no one believes them since there hasn't been one at all for years."

Arna pulled out her map to double check and make sure they would be heading in the right direction as she had already begun walking as she explained about this elder and town he was possibly at. Raph and Casey were arguing in the back as they followed, and like always, Leo kept up and stayed behind Arna despite his broken bones, April was honestly somewhat jealous at how well he could hide and endure such pain, she glanced behind her quickly to notice Jogo was with Mikey as they also followed, playing.

After a few hours of walking, nothing has changed aside from the fact Arna almost got lost. Arna stopped and started turning the map around to try and read name directions, Mikey wasn't expecting it and tripped, grasping onto April's poncho and also bringing her down with him, she didn't realize she also frighteningly grabbed onto Leo's cape and had him join the collapse.

Donnie was entirely silent the whole trip, hardly noticeable, just like Jogo. 'Mikey tripped over a damn pebble…' Donnie thought to himself unamusingly as he walked past the cluster to help Arna. "Are you… two trying to break more of my ribs!?" Leo growled angrily as he lifted himself slightly and grasping his side, April only somewhat lightly smacked Mikey on top of his head with her fist, "Mikey…" April growled angrily. "Sorry…." Mikey sobbed innocently.

Donnie pushed the map down and away from Arna's view as he pointed in a general direction, "That it?" Arna glanced up at where he was pointing and noticed some buildings in the distance that she was too distracted to notice herself sooner, she gave Donnie a grateful smile and nodded, "Yep, that's it. Emberheim."

Raph and Casey were still arguing and pinching each other's cheeks out as they continued to walk, they didn't realize or notice the small incident that happen and they both tripped over Mikey who was still lumbering on the ground after Leo and April had already gotten up and out of the way.

"Mikey!" Raph shouted angrily and thrashed at him as both him and Casey resulted in pinching his cheeks out, Mikey sobbed innocently and cried out, "Ahhhh! Im sorrrrryyy! Ahhh!"

April only sighed unamusingly slightly as she stared back where they all came from beforehand, Leo lowered his head slightly to see where she was looking as he noticed her distracted and lost in thought again, "Still feel that presence?" he questioned her confusingly. April only continued to stare and look around in the general direction, "Yeaah… but I just can't make it out of who or where it is… It could just be my head playing with me.."

Leo glanced up seriously and also glanced around a bit, she wasn't alone with the strange presence following all of them, though he also couldn't get certain facts off his mind with this presence. "Whoever or whatever it is, we should keep our guard up. They're most likely spying on us and observing us, I doubt they want to fight or they would've already." Leo stated as he placed a hand on April's shoulder to reassure her before walking off and following Arna.

April took one last glance behind, 'Be careful what you say and do. Be vigilant.' April knew what Leo was getting at, giving this person the disadvantages and wrong ideas about them, but the only time she didn't feel this presence was when they got separated and stuck down in the tunnel system. Then again, the tunnel system was a tight place, nowhere to hide or run.

Everyone instantly stopped whatever they were doing as they all had returned to venturing towards Emberheim, it was a decently large town but the worried and frightened look on all their faces made them think otherwise. Emberheim was up in flames, and screams could be heard, it was under attack and being raided by a large unknown cult. They all rushed over to the town to get a better view of the incident that was occurring, "Seems it's been happening for only a few minutes, it just somewhat started." Arna pointed out as they all looked up at all the burning buildings.

"I thought you said this place was never under attack even with unsure rumors happening and going around." April questioned as she worriedly looked at Arna. Arna hesitated slightly, "False rumors can still turn out true eventually." "What do we do then? We don't know anything about this attack or this town…?" Donnie remarked worriedly as he glanced at both Leo and Arna. Leo also glanced at Arna, "Is there anything you can tell us about whoever is attacking them, and does this place have a safe place for when attacks happen such as this?" Leo questioned her seriously.

Arna glanced around to try and see for any attackers where they stood, and surprisingly enough one of the attackers attempted to ambush them only to get pounded into the ground by Casey and Raph who started to tease the enemy, Arna immediately recognized them now. "They're known as the Blanders, they're a massive cult that does raids on towns by using powerful men and magic, weapons, you name it. They even have dangerous tamed creatures they use as well in order to set places on fire easily and destroy large gates and more. Emberheim itself though, the only safe I can think of is the church, it was the last place people gathered for safety and defense in an attack several several years ago, but that could've changed by now." Arna was unsure herself in regards to the safe haven of this town when dangerous incidents such as this happens.

"Where's April?" Donnie questioned as he glanced around worriedly, Donnie growled at Mikey who was crouched on the ground picking and playing with a strange bug, Mikey instantly glanced up and stopped, giving him an innocent smile. "Dunno.." Mikey remarked frighteningly.

Leo glanced around himself and already figured out which way she went, she had ran her way into the town already, most likely worried about innocent lives being at risk and wanted to help immediately. Leo gave a small whistle at Raph and Casey and provided them with hand signs that Raph only understood, "Come on idiot! Time to pound some more dudes!" Raph growled happily as he grabbed Casey's arm and ran off into a separate part of town to help innocents.

"Don't you dare!" Donnie cried as Leo gave him a serious look, "Arna you're with me, we're going after April." Leo stated as he still gave Donnie a serious look, "Donnie, you and Mikey are going on the opposite side of town to help." "Whyyy do I gotta have Mikey… he's just going to pull pranks…" Donnie sobbed as he grabbed Mikey's arm and dragged him along anyway.

"You never cease to amaze me, Leonardo." Arna remarked as she crossed her arms with a slight amazed look on her face, Leo only glanced at her confusingly and raised an eye, "What? My charm isn't enough?" Leo mocked. "What charm?" Arna smirked lightly, Leo only rolled his eyes slightly giving a small laugh as he turned around and started to walk, heading into town and giving her a wave to follow along.

April instantly began to look and glance around, she witnessed multiple innocents get slaughtered or taken away very quickly. She was capable of defending herself a bit, but she knew defending another would be impossible with how unskilled she was, she still needed way more training and practice.

She wasn't going to idly sit by and just let this disaster happen when she knew she could at least grab and help some innocents out of the town at the very least. April glanced around and noticed a very large bulky man approaching a young little girl who was just sitting and crying for her mother and father, he was smirking as he stumbled his large footsteps towards her.

April was too far away to make it but she tried anyway as she began to run towards the little girl, but she instantly came to a stop when someone else took sudden action that she recognized immediately. "Leo!" April shouted happily as he had rushed over, leaping in and quickly grabbed the girl out of the range of the large man.

The Blander man instantly turned angrily and faced Leo who was giving him a serious glare, Leo was down on one knee and the little girl clung to him drastically with how frightened she was. April jumped frighteningly from a sudden touch on her shoulder and turned, noticing who it was, "Arna.." April said happily, "You shouldn't run off like that, you had us worried." Arna stated, tilting her head slightly. "Sorry… my body just kinda moved on its own." April remarked as she sobbed slightly, feeling like the guilty one, though she didn't blame them.

The Blander man yelled and roared loudly but also was very pissed, though he was a distance away from Leo and would take a good run to get to him, April and them didn't know why he resulted in letting out a war cry.

April noticed something off too, the Blander man began to charge at Leo as he frantically most likely wanted to kill the little girl and now him for saving her to begin with. Leo was struggling to stand as he wobbled a bit and supported himself with a hand on the ground, April knew his broken bones must've been excruciatingly painful right now from the running and leaping.

April didn't want to see him get hurt again, she hated to see him suffering in such pain, and she was tired of seeing all these innocents being killed and taken, out of fun for these Blanders. Her liking for this dimension was beginning to fade as she realized this place was a major kill or be killed, hunt or be hunted, Though it was any different from earth itself.

April's body moved on its own again, but this time it was her arms and hands, Arna was busy looking at Leo's direction and the Blander. A large boulder behind them lifted off the ground that was part of a fallen tower that the Blander destroyed awhile ago before they arrived. Arna immediately ducked frighteningly from a strong wind pressure and a sudden large boulder flying past over their heads and towards Leo and the enemy.

Leo felt and heard the little girl frantically trying to get his attention as she seemed extremely frightened and worried about something far more than the Blander in front of them, Leo peered over his shoulder painfully as he already managed to stand up quickly and was about to dodge the incoming man, he saw the incoming boulder as it was flying towards them, fast, Leo reacted immediately and ducked as him and the little girl both were astonished and frightened as it came out of nowhere.

The Blander man had no time to react himself as he didn't notice the incoming boulder until Leo had ducked himself, the boulder had hit the man instantly and was crushed into a nearby building. April glanced down at her hands confusingly and unsure, did she do that or was her head just playing with her again, but clearly it wasn't as she glanced up and noticed both Arna and Leo looking at her with very confused and shocked expressions.

April immediately put her hands behind her back frighteningly as they both also had somewhat stern looks on their faces, "Sorry…?" April sobbed lightly with uneasiness.

Leo had a small limp as he walked over to join them, "Since when could you do telekinesis?" Leo questioned her as he put the little girl down who still clung to him persistently. "I didn't know I could..?" April stated unsurengly, "It's possible you just developed it, even if your from another world you can still develop magical powers, and telekinesis is one of them, but I've never seen one that powerful with what you just did for just finding out about it… it's possible it's been with you along too." Arna stated as she was unsure herself.

"I want my mommy!" The little girl cried out as she clung to Leo's leg frighteningly, "Well, we'll discuss it after this situation." Leo remarked as he picked up the little girl, "We gotta find her parents and everyone else in this town. Where's that church?" Leo questioned as him and April looked at Arna.

Arna peered around, it was sorta hard to navigate with how many buildings were being burned down and how many were already destroyed and crumbled to the ground, but she managed. Every church had a pointing peak with a bell at the top, and it was spot on as she noticed it not too far off and pointed towards it.

"Dudes, the Blan Blans are leaving!" A voice shouted out at them from a rooftop, it was Mikey as they glanced up. "Blan Blans?" Arna questioned with a small chuckle, "Nickname for the Blanders most likely." April stated unamusingly, Mikey went back to help Donnie as they were nearby.

"Guess that's good news for us, they're leaving because they accomplished their raid?" April questioned, "Not sure actually, it's possible we made them leave even though we hardly did anything, but we also arrived somewhat late too, so they must've got what they came for." Arna shrugged lightly.

Arna glanced around sadly as Leo and April had already begun walking towards the church but came to a halt as they noticed Arna not following, "You ok?" April questioned her sadly, knowing something was off. "Emberheim used to be so peaceful and active, it had very loving people and now this…" Arna stated sadly as this is where she first arrived a few years back, the people here treated her with kindness at the time and by the looks of it, it still was a peaceful town until this incident.

The little girl in Leo's arms had calmed down but was still crying a bit, April glanced at her and then back at Arna and walked up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. "Sometimes when bad happens, there's usually always a positive peak to it in the end, just gotta have faith." April remarked with a smile on her face as Arna turned to look at her.

Leo also had a small smile from what April stated as she wasn't entirely wrong, Arna gave April a gentle smile as she was grateful for her kind words and they both caught up towards Leo who waited for them.

After a bit of a walk, they reached the church, it was heavily guarded by warriors that protected the doors and entrances with large spears and magic guns. The warriors immediately pointed their guns at them, Leo had already put the girl down as she still continued to cling to his leg as they stood in front of the church, Leo was instantly defensive and protective over them as the warriors raised and pointed.

"State your business! Are you Blanders!?" One of the warriors shouted angrily, though he was also defensive and protective over his people that were held and kept protected inside the church. Arna was about to speak up but the little girl immediately stopped crying as she recognized one of the warriors and rushed towards them crying out, "Stteevveeyy!" she cried as she wobbled towards him, Steve immediately lowered his weapon as he also recognized the girl.

"Sarene!?" Steve cried out confusingly and rushed to her, the other warriors lowered their weapons slowly as well realizing these people saved the little girl and were bringing her here to the church. "Thank you, we took action because we didn't recognize any of you, but clearly you helped." Steve remarked as he stood up after hugging Sarene.

"We would offer you all a place to stay and eat, but under these circumstances, it's unlikely." Steve added sadly. "That's alright, we aren't here to stay, we're looking for the elder." Arna stated, Steve gave her a confused expression, "Elder?"

"The one knowing all, last I heard, he was here?" Arna added unsurengly. Steve now realized which elder she was referring to, "Ahh yes, he was here awhile back but he left about a month ago. I heard rumors he hangs out at Strangler's Hill, but I'm not entirely sure, I'm sorry but that's all I know."

"At least it's a lead." Leo remarked, Sarene was clinging to Steve happily but also still frightened, but she suddenly let go and ran back towards Leo and jumping up at him for a hug. Leo glanced down at her confusingly but crouched down to her level and she hugged him, April gave a small happy expression.

"Thank you mister bluey!" Sarene said with a small smile before running back towards Steve and also jumping up at him to be lifted. "Mister Bluey?" April remarked with a small giggle as she tried to hold it back, "Don't let it get to your head." Leo growled unamusingly, "And I thought Mikey was bad at nicknames." Arna added.

Steve had lifted up Sarene into his arms with a smile, "I've never seen her do that, again, thank you." All three reassured him with a smile, Mikey and Donnie had jumped down to join them and it spooked practically all of them except Leo who hardly reacted at all, "Dude! That was intense!" Mikey said as he slightly danced around, "Did you two help people?" Leo questioned seriously as he glanced at them, "Sure did." Donnie stated, pointing in a general direction.

They all glanced over at where he was pointing and a few dozen people came walking around the corner and towards the church where Casey and Raph were taking the lead and giving a wave. Leo gave a small smile and directed his attention back at Steve, "Well, we did what we could but we should head out."

Raph and Casey had walked up to join the group, Jogo had also appeared out of nowhere and leaped up onto Leo's shoulder with a small meow. "If any of you ever happen to come by here again in the future, do not hesitate to ask if you need anything, we will remember you all for your assistance, that's how this town is." Steve remarked gratefully.

They all waved Steve and them off just as they did in return, so did Sarene with a small smile on her face. "So, do you know where Strangler's Hill is?" April questioned Arna, Arna pulled out her map and wiggled it in the air with a smile on her face, "Sure do, but it's a two days trip from here." Arna knew where Strangler's Hill was by heart, she didn't need the map but she also knew the place was considered dangerous and wasn't going to say anything about it just yet until they arrived there, she knew they didn't care how dangerous it was and still would pursue towards their objective no matter what for the sake of their friend primarily.

Arna stopped as they exited the town and took one last look at the place, she was going to miss this town, this was the place she first met her good friend with all the good old memories and she hopes to return and actually stay here for awhile someday, but she had to say goodbye to, Emberheim for now.


	21. Chapter 21: Strangler's Hill

**Chapter 21: Strangler's Hill**

Leo let out a small yawn as he hardly slept at all during the night, it's been a good day since they left Emberheim and camped out for the night, though he wasn't alone, April and Arna had also hardly slept, they all were occupied about the incidents in the past two towns they've been at, or atleast Arna was. April and Leo were still concerned about the unknown presence following them even now, and the major fact of April and her possible telekinesis powers.

Leo told her to keep them hidden for now as it was probably best for specific reasons that she understood, and Arna also kept her mouth shut about it for now.

"So is Strangler's Hill like where people got strangled to death?" Mikey questioned confusingly, "Why would you even ask that..?" Casey remarked, "Because of its name, duh." Mikey added. Arna gave a small chuckle, "No Mikey, it's nothing like that. It's just a name for the place, though there is a large cult that lives there and are bad people, if I remember correctly, the elder likes to hang out there because of the bar and drinks and the fact that cult actually likes the elder and accepts him to stay. I do not know why they do, the elder most likely did something to help them in order to allow this, or it could be something entirely else, I'm unsure. But there was this one young girl who actually did get strangled to death by a drunk cult member many many years back, rumors of it still go around."

"Spooky." Raph stated sarcastically, "Oh wow.." April remarked as she stopped and stared at what was ahead, Arna walked up beside her with a smile, "Beautiful, what are they?" April questioned her. Arna crossed her arms, "Willow Sakura Tree's, though they're more reddish and pink than just pink, they never die out or lose their color."

Leo let out a small sneeze, "Well I hope i'm not allergic to them." Leo remarked covering his mouth with a tired look, "I don't think that's it.. Something smells rotten, though hard to make out." Donnie stated as he glanced around, Leo just gave a weak wave to leave it as he walked past them all and continued to march on as sitting and standing around wouldn't get them anywhere.

The Willow Tree's had a very pretty dark color tone to them, they all were lined up and surrounded a large area with a path in the middle, and it seemed there was traditional decorations of white rope and strange red wood rectangles that hang from them that were lined up across through the entire path where they were all decently high up. April honestly liked it alot as it made her feel pleasant, she always loved chinese or japanese traditional decorations and festivals, though she's never been to one.

After a good while of walking down the path, they all stopped for a short break. Arna had stated along the way that Stranglers Hill was a large building and had a very tall tower that could be noticeable from afar, but where they were was somewhat difficult for that with all these Sakura Willow tree's that were huge.

April glanced around and noticed Leo was missing, Casey and Mikey were arguing over the best video game and Raph was sharpening one of his sai's, Donnie was talking with Arna to know more about this Dimension. "Where's Leo?" April questioned, "Up there." Raph remarked as he pointed with his sai.

April glanced up and saw him crouching on one of the traditional ropes, scouting and looking ahead and also to get a better and higher view for the building, Jogo was next to him on the rope as well and she was directly staring and looking down at April and gave a small meow when she noticed her look up.

"Should he really be up there?" April remarked as she glanced at Raph who shrugged lightly, "You know how he is, he ain't going to let some broken bones stop him if that's what you're worried about." Raph stated as he looked up at her, "Well not just that, pretty sure would have to be higher to even notice the building…" April added unsurengly.

Raph chuckled lightly, "I don't know how Leo does it, but he can spot the smallest mouse lurking about from a pretty good distance. I'm sure he already has eyes on that building despite the tree's and his ribs." "No wonder you fear him a bit." April mocked with a small smirk on her face, Raph hesitated and gave her an annoyed glare but didn't say anything or perform any action, April knew she wasn't wrong as he didn't deny it.

Leo stood up on the ropes and lightly leaned to reduce the weight on his right side where his broken bones were as he turned around to face the group, he glanced down and noticed Arna already looking up at him. "Do you see it, Leonardo?" Arna questioned him as she had to shout up at him.

Leo raised an eye at her, "Just Leo is fine… but yes I see it." Leo stated as he raised his arm slightly and pointed behind her, "And something intimidating behind you." He added.

Arna gave a confused look but turned around to see what he was pointing at and referring too, both Casey and Mikey were directly in her face and made stupid faces right in hers as she turned and let out roars, this frightened her as she leaped back with a yelp.

Both Mikey and Casey started laughing loudly, "Got you good!" Casey laughed, Arna gave them a small glare as she let out a deep breath of relief, "Very funny...and uncalled for." She remarked unpleasantly. Arna began to back up slowly with a frightened and worried expression on her face, Mikey and Casey both stopped laughing from this as they instantly noticed.

It wasn't just Arna, Leo had a hand on the hilt of one his swords and became defensive up on the rope, Raph also became defensive with his sai, April also had a frightened and unsure look on her face, Donnie pulled out his staff and also backed up towards Arna to protect her. Mikey and Casey both turned around to where they all were looking at and becoming defensive towards, there, right in front of them, stood a large zombie looking wolf, staring dead at them all.

Casey and Mikey clung to each other frighteningly, the wolf didn't do anything, it just stared at them all. "Z-Dog." Arna remarked surprised, "That thing is huge, you didn't say they were this huge!?" April growled lowly, "They aren't normally this big, this one must've been alive and around for ages for it to be this size." Arna added.

The Z-Dog was about the size of the Willow tree's, it also smelled very bad, rotten. Leo glanced down at Jogo, she hardly reacted or became defensive, she also just stared at the creature and didn't seem frightened at all. Leo removed his hand from the hilt of his sword and glanced back at the Z-Dog, "Put your weapons away." Leo stated at the others.

"What!? Are you insane!?" Raph growled. April remembered what Arna said about the Z-Dogs, they were just like Jogo's species and were friendly unless they were hungry or felt threatened. "Do what he says!" April growled at him, Raph growled lowly to himself but listened as he sheathed his sai, Donnie also put his staff back into its sheath.

The Z-Dog continued to stare for a while longer but immediately began to be on its way as it slowly turned its head away from them the second they all put their weapons away and vanished into the trees with a small rumble purr.

Leo jumped down from the branches as they all were astonished and stared at the general direction it walked off towards, Leo let out another large sneeze and covered his mouth with a small annoyed growl, "Yep… that was it.." "Again, you never cease to amaze me." Arna remarked as she turned towards Leo, "I heard rumors there was a Z-Dog that lived and lurked around here, though I figured they were false." Arna added with a finger to her chin as she thought.

"Just because more people say it's not true doesn't mean it's possible that it could be." Donnie remarked. Arna shrugged with a small sigh, "We should camp out ahead, it's getting dark."

Mikey and Casey glanced up as Arna was correct, and seemed they'd been walking a while without realizing it, and this sudden occurrence of the Z-Dog held them off on time as well even though it wasn't long, But then again, days didn't last very long here in this Dimension.

Mikey and Casey immediately pointed at each other, "Night Shift!" they both shouted at each other. "No way, it's your turn dude! Leo did it last night!" Casey growled, Mikey gave a small bellow, "Nuh uh! When's the last time you ever were helpful and pulled a night shift!" Mikey growled.

Casey dropped his hand and gave a small annoyed sigh, "You got me there… fine i'll do it." Mikey giggled in victory and both him and Casey glanced at the others who had already left them to argue over night shift. "Wait up!" They both cried as they ran to catch up to the others.

The building they saw was still a distance aways and would still take a good few hours of more walking, night time was far more dangerous than day when you're venturing out and about. The group setup camp in the trees a distance away from the path, Mikey and Donnie were the firsts to pass out and fall asleep after eating and then Raph shortly after.

Casey was lurking in a tree and sitting on a branch, keeping watch considering he lost the battle with Mikey for the night shift turn. Leo and April glanced at each other as they both felt the same presence again of someone following them, all this time they've came to the conclusion who ever it was, was either just studying and spying on them to learn about them or were waiting for them arrive somewhere, or could've been something else entirely, but they stayed cautious.

Jogo was sitting below Leo and stared at him as he was leaned back against a tree eating some soup, this was her way of begging for food. Leo wasn't entirely hungry himself and already had a few bites, he rested the bowl beside him and next to Jogo to let her have the rest.

April knew Leo loved Jogo quite a bit, he just didn't like to show it. She gave a small smile and turned to face Arna who was sipping down the last of her soup, "So what are we expecting at Stranglers Hill? By how silent you've been about it, it must be dangerous."

Arna gently put the bowl down and wiped her mouth as she gazed at April and gave a small sigh, "I wanted to wait until we arrived fully there, but yes, it is a dangerous place. Like I said, it's where a large cult lives. It's one large building where they all stay at, outsiders are welcomed under certain circumstances that I don't really remember what they are due to the fact they usually change often. I also heard that this cult knows stuff that the outside world does not know, though that's just rumors as well."

"So in short, we're headed right into a dangerous cult motel?" Leo questioned as he slightly gave a small glare at Arna knowing she wasn't entirely telling everything. Arna returned his glare with one of her own and nodded, "They're called The Stranglers of course, enemies of the Blanders too, so hopefully we don't run into a small war or invasion of them in the morning. So yes, they're known to be ruthless killers when needed."

Arna layed down and faced her back at the two, "Now get some sleep." April glanced at Leo and shrugged, seemed like if she was hiding something they wouldn't find out until they arrived at the so-called Stranglers motel. Raph had finished sharpening his other sai and went off to sleep himself, after a few hours, almost everyone was asleep and passed out, some snoring away, including Casey who fell asleep as well.

Leo couldn't sleep again, he just sat back against the tree petting Jogo who rested on his lap as he stared at the dimming fireplace. Leo gave a small sigh and slumped down sadly, "Only time will tell, huh…" Leo mumbled lowly as he remembered past training with Splinter in recalling the future, Splinter always said that to him and his brothers when questions couldn't be answered.

Jogo instantly shot her head upward and stared in a general direction, Leo froze as he immediately realized why Jogo reacted so quickly. It was the Z-Dog, the same one from before on the path, staring down directly at him and none of the others. He was completely lost in thought and didn't even sense, hear or notice it, he wondered how long it stood there, staring at him.

He didn't even notice or react to the rotten smell it produced until now as he covered his nose and mouth with a hand and stared back at the zombie wolf. Leo was confused and unsure what to do, him and Jogo were the only ones awake and it didn't seem like this creature posed a threat, and the fact it approached their camp, Leo was unsure if the creature was blind or not.

But considering the fact it was staring directly at him, it was unlikely that it was blind, it's eyes were pale and looked blind, though, then again, the creature was practically a zombie. Jogo hardly reacted at all, she only stared back at the creature herself too and didn't do anything, it was pretty much a staring contest it seemed like.

The creature hardly reacted at all to the others around him, even with Raph's loud occasional snoring. The creature slowly walked up towards Leo, it hardly gave off any sound from it's footsteps, no wonder Leo didn't hear it.

Leo didn't bother to stand up or become defensive, he allowed it to approach him, though he did dislike and hate the rotten smell it gave off, and the closer it came the stronger the smell. Leo came to the conclusion that the beast most likely didn't like him and the others in its land, but if that was the case, it would've attacked.

Jogo still did nothing and only continued to stare at it, despite how close it was getting too. The large beast stood right next to Leo and lowered its head to his level and came nose to nose with Jogo, Leo only watched and stayed calm.

Jogo gave a small growl and then a gentle meow, the creature turned its head to face and look at Leo, only to stare at him a short while before letting out a large wave of air from its nostrils right onto Leo. Leo almost felt like passing out with how bad the smell was, he was trying to hold back a sneeze as well.

Jogo gave another small meow as she looked up at Leo also, Leo glanced down at her unsurengly and then back at the creature. Leo slowly removed his hand from his mouth and nose as the creature seemed to have a gentle and pleasing look in its eyes, it also shortly gave a small happy sort of purr.

The creature most likely felt alone, maybe even abandoned, Leo remembered that Arna said that this one Z-Dog considering its size was old and has lived for ages, so it made Leo wonder how long this poor creature must've felt alone and having to survive on its own without any help or someone to at least help or acknowledge it, just like Jogo.

Leo felt bad for it, he gently placed his hand on top of the creature's snout, despite it's nasty smell, it was surprisingly soft but also boney. The creature closed its eyes, it almost looked happy and/or relieved as it seemed to also have a smile, it also gave a small purr, in short, it seemed to be saying thank you.

Letting out another wave of air from it's nostrils right in Leo's face, the creature turned around and slowly walked away into the trees and slowly vanished. Leo had small tears in his eyes from the smell and let out a sneeze, covering his mouth he let out an annoyed growl and grasped his side as it hurt from the sneeze, 'Now im for sure not going to be able to sleep.' Leo thought with an unamused expression on his face.

Leo and Jogo managed to fall asleep after a while, the fireplace died out about another hour after. Arna and Donnie were the first two to wake up, "What is that smell?" Donnie remarked as he slowly lifted himself and covered his nose, "The Z-Dog." Arna stated as she cleaned up most of the camp.

Donnie only gave her a confused look, "The Zombie Wolf, seems like it visited us during the night when we were asleep, but no one's hurt." Arna said as she gave him a stern and unamused look.

"More like it visited Leo." April stated as she lifted herself, she had just woke up herself and heard the conversation. Both Arna and Donnie looked at her confusingly, April shrugged lightly as she was unsure herself.

Leo let out a sudden sneeze which spooked the others, he had a hand covering his mouth and nose and was giving them an unamused and tired look, "Sorry…" "You're most likely allergic to the mold that creature had." Donnie stated as he tilted his head slightly, he could smell it.

The sneeze even spooked Jogo in his lap as she shot her head upward frighteningly. "You've been sneezing almost all night, best we wake the others and leave already considering that thing lives in these trees and has that smell all over." April stated worriedly, she knew his allergies with the smell of the mold and rot from the creature would just get worse the longer they stayed in its land, he wasn't the only one, she personally was getting tired and sick of the smell herself, so were the others most likely.

They didn't argue or disagree, Donnie, Arna and even Leo wanted to leave and get to their destination already. Raph and Mikey were the hardest to wake up, Casey woke himself up as he pretty much turned over and fell off the branch he fell asleep on.

After everyone was awake, they spent the rest of the good hours walking and following the trail. Jogo had vanished again and knowing her, she would reappear out of nowhere again like she always did.

"Woooaahh!" Mikey shockingly stated as he slumped a bit in amazement, "This place is so much larger than I thought you said it was…" Donnie added, also in amazement. They all had finally reached the Stranglers Hill building and stared directly at it with its large tower also, "And it's pretty awesome looking." Raph remarked with small confusement.

They all approached the doors and came to a halt, the door had a magical barrier on it and a sign above it in an unknown language that only Arna seemed to be able to read and understand, though she needed a short while to make it out. Mikey and Casey randomly started to play rock paper scissors while Raph, Donnie and Arna stared at the sign, Leo and April weren't entirely interested with how tired they were and April was fidgeting with her nails and fingers.

"Well, what's it say?" Raph growled at the two nerds. Arna turned and gave him an unamused look, "It says, only couples are allowed to enter." "Couples? Then me and Donnie will go in." Raph remarked as he wanted to find this elder already, Arna gave a small annoyed sigh, "It's not that simple, couples are two people, a boy and a girl that share a close relationship or semi-close relationship."

Raph gave an unamused look, "Then why don't you go with one of us?" Arna facepalmed as she was beginning to be annoyed and angered, "I still hardly know any of you, and haven't even built any kind of good relationship with any of you yet. Even if we still did that, that barrier wouldn't allow us in, it will know if we share a good relationship or not."

Raph came to realization and instantly had a smirk on his face, Arna only stared at him confusingly as it sort of scared her. Raph slowly turned, "Leeeooo, Aprrilll." He slowly mocked happily, Arna and Donnie instantly realized what he was planning and thought out and they both smiled along and looked at the two who were standing next to each other and the other two.

April glanced up as she wasn't entirely paying attention and noticed all three of them staring at her and someone else, she glanced to her left and noticed they were also staring at Leo who only gave them an unamused look, Leo had already overheard their conversation and wasn't saying anything as he wasn't going to deny it or be negative towards it.

April immediately picked up on what they were planning and she shot a surprised look at them, "Oh no, no, it's not like that!" April growled somewhat embarrassed, "Why don't Arna and Donnie go?! You two have been getting along!" She added.

"We hardly even gotten along just yet, meanwhile you two have known each other before I even met you all." Arna remarked happily, "There's gotta be another waayyy!" April growled annoyingly, she hated how they seemed to see her and Leo, she didn't want to say anything about he's always wanted a sister.

Arna sighed lightly, "There is no other way, Raph, Donnie." Donnie and Raph smirked as they walked up to the two and grabbed them, April and Leo were both tossed through the barrier forcefully. "The barrier didn't reject them, so cute." Arna chuckled lightly, "Leo is so going to kill us afterward." Donnie frighteningly stated with a small sob, "Please don't remind me." Raph added.

The barrier faded away and the doors slammed closed behind the two after they were thrown in and entered the building, April shot upward angrily and ran at the doors trying to force them open as she gave a large annoyed growl. "You guys are so getting it when we get out of here!" April growled, "If only… I knew… how to control this damn telekinesis… I could've thrown them in here instead!" April added angrily.

The door wasn't budging at all, it was completely sealed with magic. The door was going to stay closed and wasn't going to reopen until they had entered the actual part of the building it seemed.

April leaned back a bit with an angered expression still, "They seriously don't know the complexity of a brother and sister relationship." Leo was very quiet, April noticed this, she stopped and glanced over at him. He was sitting slumped on his knees with his head drooped down and grasping his side, April gave a sad and worried look knowing his ribs were excruciatingly painful right now, especially after being tossed in against own will.

Leo already knew April was looking down at him but he didn't bother to move or look at her as he was showing and admitting his pain, April let out a small sigh and walked over to him and knelt down beside him. "You really should be resting." April stated worriedly, Leo only lowered his head a bit more, "Sorry…" He remarked painfully.

They both knew they didn't have that kind of time, it would take several weeks to two or four months for them to fully heal. April already knew he was enduring the pain all this time since the first break occurred, and he was really damn good at hiding it. April let out another small sigh, "Just… Promise me you'll take it easy at least? I don't want you to develop pneumonia or severe pain when breathing."

Leo gave April a small confused look, he was unsure what pneumonia was as he hardly knew any medical terminology himself, April noticed this instantly and gave him an unamused expression, "It's an infection in the lungs and normally broken ribs cause it if they worsen." April stated seriously, again, she was glad she took a medical class.

Leo gave a small sigh, "I can't promise you, but I'll try." That's all April needed to hear, even if he couldn't promise it, the fact he would try relieved her, even if it was just a bit. April was sick and tired of losing people she cared about, and she wasn't going to lose anymore, especially Leo and the others, including Arna and Jogo.

April was about to help Leo as she was about to stand, but they both froze and halted when they heard a small sound approach them. Leo looked down beside him and April also peered over, "Jogo!?" April remarked shockingly. Jogo let out a small meow as she rubbed her side happily against Leo and then sat down with another small happy meow, Leo gave a small smile and petted her with his free hand.

"How did she even get in?" April questioned as she glanced around, "Probably a crevice or something, either way she's a little rascal." Leo remarked, April only gave an unamused expression as she didn't see any crevice nearby, though she did agree with him on Jogo being a little rascal.

All three of them froze in slight frighten and shock when a loud growl echoed throughout the hall and room they were in, both April and Leo gazed at where the growl came from, it was extremely close. "Did Arna mention anything about a guardian or monster when entering?" April questioned frighteningly as they all noticed something large move around in the side of the room where it was dark and hard to see.

Whatever it was, it was decently larger than any of them and slowly approached them. It slowly showed itself as it came out more into the light and turning to face them, both April and Leo became shocked and somewhat frightened with what they saw as it stood in the light and stared at them with its large pure gold eyes. April was unsure what it was entirely as it also appeared different, but one thing she knew for sure what it was based on any mythology creatures and what they've all already encountered was a major and simple fact, "A Dragon!?"


	22. Chapter 22: The Elder

**Chapter 22: The Elder**

Leo attempted to stand up but only collapsed back down as it only tended to cause more pain with his broken bones as he tightly grasped his side painfully. April placed a hand on his shoulder to reassure him and to keep him down, she didn't want him to hurt himself further than where he already was at.

She knew he was attempting to stand in order to possibly fight with this sudden dragon that appeared, April came to the conclusion it was here to make sure no one was breaking in and breaking rules where couples were only allowed. She also came to the conclusion it posed no threat to them as it only stared at them, just like the Z-Dog did back in the Sakura forest path.

Leo glanced up at the creature with a painful small stern look, he immediately gave a small surprised look as the dragon was directly staring at him, it had the same gentle and unsure look in its eyes like the Z-Dog. Leo glanced down at Jogo quickly and she wasn't showing any signs of defense or a possible fight with this dragon, moving his look back at the creature both him and April also realized that this dragon was this Dimension's dragon, not a Den Na' Vor despite it looking like one.

The dragon slowly approached them, but it was focused on Leo for some reason and it really made April confused. They both noticed the creature had a collar on it, which provided a name for it in large bold letters, The dragon had a name, Marol, and they both knew Marol was a female.

April felt bad for the creature, it was chained up and it looked sad and miserable, and lonely. Marol lowered her head down to Leo's level and stared at him, April only watched in confusement and hoped she wasn't planning on biting his head off.

Marol lowered her head to where Leo was grasping his side painfully and forcefully lifted Leo's hand off his side and placed her snout under his hand, Leo was confused just as much as April was.

Marol let out a small gentle purr, "What's with the creatures here and you…? Are you secretly able to communicate with them?" April questioned Leo in confusement as she gave him a small stern look as well. Leo had a very confused and surprised look on his face and didn't even look at April as he continued to look at Marol, "Its.. gone."

April only looked at him in even more confusement, unsure what he meant. "The pain, it's gone…" Leo remarked more specifically as he glanced up at April, he was confused himself. "What..? Did she heal you?" April stared at Marol who continued to purr as she enjoyed the attention, Leo shrugged lightly, "I don't think she healed them, just took the pain away."

Leo stood up as Marol followed and lifted her head up as well, Leo continued to give her attention as they both knew she probably has never had any love and affection in ages based on how miserable she looked and the fact she was chained and most likely forced to be here. "You really have a way with these creatures we've encountered... Are you sure you're not somehow communicating with them?" April questioned him again.

"I don't know… but it's like somehow I can feel their pain and suffering and also know what they're feeling and thinking." Leo was unsure himself, at first he figured it was Jogo that could've been communicating with them and telling them it was ok, but Jogo was the same exact way when he first encountered her, she also stared at him just like this dragon and the Z-Dog before approaching and being friendly.

"Maybe it's the Elder Blood in you?" April remarked unsurengly, Leo shrugged, maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Leo couldn't see how elder blood could help him understand what these creatures were feeling and attempting to say, then again, the elder blood in him also made him somewhat part dragon, but it was also most likely to be something else that none of them know about yet.

April gave a small sigh, "We should go find the elder, we're not here for a dragon, I'm sure this is enough we can give her." Marol already knew this and had already turned away and slowly walked off back to her dark spot of the room before April even said anything, giving her the love and affection is all she wanted.

Leo glanced at the chains on Marol one last time and noticed the only way to get them off was literally breaking them, they also looked like magical chains that were very likely to be unbreakable, so much for lock picking. Leo didn't have any of his weapons as Arna and the others took them considering weapons weren't allowed either, so the LynBlade was also off the list.

April knew Leo felt pity for Marol and was trying to think of multiple plans and ways to break those chains off her so she could be free, but based on his sad and unsure expression, he couldn't come up with anything. Jogo let out a small meow and started to trot down the hall, she was already ready to go and get this over with it seemed, April did as well as she started down the hall after Jogo, Leo gave one last glance at Marol as she rested and laid down facing her back at them before he followed behind.

After leaving Marol and walking down a hallway for sometime, they finally reached a large active room. Just as Arna mentioned, it was literally full of the cult members, they stood up on an upper floor apparently whilst glancing down and noticing a massive amount of people all having a good time, whether it be dancing, drinking, playing cards, you name it.

April remembered Arna giving a brief description of what the Elder looked like, he was literally the only Elder here in the Stranglers cult castle and she mentioned he would literally stand out the most when it came to looking for him, April wasn't fond of this place but she wasn't going to lie as she was also amazed out how beautiful the inside was, it was like a literal twenty one or older party happening here as it was entirely mostly full of men dancing and doing unnecessary things with the women here.

Jogo seemed to know this place as she was always taking the lead, April didn't realize that Jogo and Leo started to walk off and approach the activities to search for the Elder and she quickly ran up to catch up to them. Leo didn't seem entirely interested at all with this place or the people having a good time below them, this included above on the same floor as well as there were small bars aligned in a circle with people sitting and drinking at them.

Remembering what Raph said yesterday made April leave the searching and browsing to Leo, considering Leo apparently had spectacular eye's when it came to searching for one thing in specific, she already knew he was great at observation as well and it honestly made her somewhat jealous.

April was lost in thought that she didn't hear Leo calling out to her until he had to literally shout her name slightly which made her jump, "You ok?" Leo questioned her and gave her a somewhat confused look, April glanced at him and immediately became embarrassed as she had suddenly clinged herself to his arm without realizing it and let go timidly.

"Sorry… I've never been fond of large parties or bars… brings back bad memories." April remarked as she glanced down sadly a bit, Leo wasn't going to question the past incidents or memories, especially after all that's already happened, she's already lost enough loved one's and that was another bad memory and most likely the worst because of Dragor.

Leo gave her a reassuring small smile, April noticed this before he continued his search with Jogo also helping, she already knew he was telling her she wasn't alone here in this place and the fact she was with him and Jogo did help.

She still didn't like how the others saw them, she couldn't get it off her mind with how they all looked at her and Leo, though they weren't entirely wrong either and she accepted it, her and Leo have been building a much closer relationship than the others for quite sometime now. There was also the fact that April herself has always wanted a brother and of course Leo himself in regards to a sister, so it was also understandable and the others still didn't know about Leo wanting a sister as she also has been keeping it from them for him.

Though April honestly forgot about that little so called secret as she had already considered herself a sister and family to all the turtles and Casey, and if Leo and the others taught and/or showed her anything, anyone who is willing to aid, protect and die for you is more than just a friend. They were all she had left now, and just the thought of losing any of them devastated her.

April immediately snapped out of her thoughts again as she noticed Leo and Jogo waiting for her, she gave a happy smile as she quickly caught up to them, they were going to find Xen no matter what, she was considered family as well with her help and aid.

Jogo let out a meow that the two could hear over the music that was also playing in the place, both April and Leo glanced down at Jogo knowing that when she meowed, it normally meant something. Jogo trotted towards one of the bar stands with her happy tail perked upward, April instantly had a happy expression on her face when she realized and noticed what, no, who Jogo found, The Elder.

The Elder sat at a bar stand that was empty aside from himself and the bartender, Jogo sat down below him and let out another meow as she was glancing up at him. The Elder was taking a sip of his drink and then stopped when he heard the meow Jogo gave and glanced down, "Oooh, a Felynx? What're you doing in a place like this?" He remarked as he turned himself around in the chair and lowered himself slightly to look at Jogo closer.

He was about to reach out to Jogo only to be rejected as she stood up immediately and turned back around with her tail perked once again, she trotted back towards April and Leo who approached the Elder and sat down next to Leo. The Elder glanced up at the two with a small reassuring look on his face that only confused April mostly, "Ahh you've arrived finally."

"You knew we were coming?" April questioned him confusingly, The Elder grabbed his drink and took a sip as he turned his back at the two not saying anything more, April clearly knew he didn't want to talk and it made her somewhat disappointed.

Leo glanced at April as she gave a somewhat annoyed look at the Elder, The Elder was clearly wanting to ignore them and not provide any info or answer questions though it didn't stop Leo. "Look, we just want to know about a certain De-" Leo began but was stopped when the Elder immediately turned around in his chair, placed a finger against Leo's mouth to shush him.

This sudden action spooked April slightly but she honestly couldn't help but to let out a small chuckle as Leo was forcefully shushed like a child, she could also tell Leo was going to react defensively and perform an defensive counter if he was about to do an attack at Leo, but Leo already figured it was a matter of being shushed so he didn't result to any drama.

The Elder looked at them both angrily, "Do not mention that name here. I wanted to finish my drink but clearly it isn't an option, come then." The Elder removed his finger and stood up from the chair he was sitting on, turning around and slowly walking towards the stairs that led down. April glanced at Leo as she couldn't help but to let out another small chuckle at him, "Not a word to the others…" Leo growled lowly at her as he was clearly not amused at all.

April raised her hands innocently acting as if she saw nothing as she followed behind the Elder and catching up to him, Leo only continued to give an unamused expression before also following up behind along with Jogo.

The Elder led them down the stairs and into the large circular room where all the live action was in regards to all the dancing and drinking, practically where everyone was, the fact that a lot of men gave April a nasty look frightened her slightly and she picked up her pace to be closer to the Elder.

The Elder hesitantly rushed April and Leo to hurry up into a room so they could chat in private without any of these cult members hearing them, and based on the Elders reaction earlier, these people must know about Den Na' Vors.

"So what's the big idea and problem of not mentioning the name here?" Leo questioned somewhat angrily, still somewhat upset about most likely being shushed, but April knew something else was upsetting it and it was most likely Marol. "And how did you know we were coming?" April added confusingly.

The Elder closed the door before they asked their questions and sat at a small table in the corner of the small room, he only slightly smirked at the two before answering, "These cult members know about the Den Na' Vor species, in fact, they've hunted one long ago, though it was a weak one. Now it's a history in their name and anyone that knows about Den Na' Vors outside their cult tend to start drama with that person and attempt to torture or kill them, thinking they know their cults secrets. And I knew you were coming here even before you arrived here."

The fact the Elder continued to have a gentle smile somewhat creeped April out, and his knowledge about them also added onto that, making her think he was some spy on them. April quickly glanced back at Leo who suddenly became surprised with realization which confused her, "You're Marwin?! Aren't you!?" Leo remarked surprisingly, April immediately turned her attention back at the Elder who continued to give a reassuring smile, "Wait you mean Elder Marwin back on earth? That turned to literal stone?! No way." April stated confusingly.

"No no, you're correct boy. I am indeed, Elder Marwin, the dragon that protected the gem and turned to stone." The Elder stated, he gave no action or state of change of expression that he was lying, he was telling the honest truth and April knew he was and she only said nothing as she was entirely speechless.

"But… aren't you supposed to be dead?" April asked unsurengly as she was trying not to be rude, though her curiosity was overcoming her like always. Marwin placed a leg over his other and leaned back in the chair, "My dragon form is, yes. But I'm guessing Xen or Dragor didn't tell you anything else about what we Elders can do." Marwin could tell based on their questions and sudden surprised looks that they didn't know at all.

"We can transfer our soul into another being only once our original body dies, I transferred my soul into an unborn baby here on this Dimension and have grown up as this human form for ninety three years" Marwin stated, April was curious about the strange occurrences of the creatures they've encountered and how they acted towards Leo, and the fact the only thing she could think of was the Elder blood in his system was the cause of it in order for him to also understand those creatures, but the other fact that Marwin seemed to know just about everything about them she wanted to make sure.

"Do you know why the creatures here have been acting the way they have towards Leo by chance? I figured it's the Elder Blood, but you're an Elder yourself and thought you might know…?" April questioned Marwin as she gave him a confused look.

Leo glanced at April when she asked the question about him, he returned his look at Marwin as he himself wanted to know as well from the actual fact he was able to somewhat understand these creatures and feel their pain and sorrow as well when he actually came face to face with them. Leo also could also feel the same presence of Marwin from when he first was at his original dragon body that turned to stone with the gem, that's how he came to the conclusion this Elder was Marwin himself.

Marwin glared slightly at Leo and then gave a small shrug, "That I am unsure of myself honestly, though you.." Marwin began as he directed his attention back at April and pointed at her, "You're a kine." Leo instantly stiffened at the word Kine as he remembered what happened last time back at the volcano with the fight against Dragor, April immediately snapped at the fact of being called a Kine again.

Leo had to hold April back as she was about to angrily charge her way at Marwin and most likely do something she didn't want to mean to. "Do I need to embed the english terminology into that Den Na' Vors brains of yours! I'm not a damn cow!"

Marwin only smiled a bit as he lowered his finger, "Kine is known as something entirely different in the Den Na' Vor grammar, its nowhere near the meaning of a cow like in english knowledge."

April relaxed after his short explanation as she and Leo both looked at him confusingly, "A kine is known as the second most powerful being in history, someone who is born and has great power..." Marwin began, "Telekinesis." Both April and Leo remarked. Marwin nodded at them seriously, "And telepathy." Marwin added as he raised an eyebrow at them.

Without realizing it fully, April immediately and full of excitement pulled Leo into a hug which spooked him as he was face planted onto her chest as she stared at Marwin happily, "You mean I wont be useless anymore!?" Leo relaxed as he couldn't entirely breathe, April noticed this and let him go timidly and apologized. "You still have a long long way to go before you learn more towards your power young one." Marwin remarked seriously.

It was going to take time, and a crap ton of it before she would even begin increasing her power, and as of right now, she didn't even know how to even use it aside from when her thoughts just randomly overcame her for Leo's sake back at Emberheim.

April came to realize herself again and shot a quick look at Marwin as she was glancing down at her hands in regards to how long and how much work it was going to take, "Do you know where Dragor and Xen are?"

Marwin only looked at her somewhat shockingly, "I do not, but there is a friend of mine who would know. Her name is Jenna, she's a researcher on every unknown arrival onto this planet, in short, the sudden teleportations occurring of people arriving here suddenly, including Den Na' Vors."

Leo glanced slightly worriedly at April, the name Jenna must've hurt her. Jenna, her adopted sister, was killed by Dragor when he found out about her secretly going behind his back and forcefully having her display the location of her parents which resulted in them getting killed as well. April didn't react to the name at all or show any sad expression, but Leo could tell it was on her mind.

"Where do we find her then?" April questioned seriously, "Down in Annenberg city, hope you like festivals." Marwin remarked somewhat sternly, after the directions were given, April, Leo and Jogo were taking their leave as they thanked Marwin, "April." Marwin stopped her midway before she left the room, Leo and Jogo had already gone out the door, April turned to look at Marwin only to see a somewhat uneasy expression on his face which confused her.

"I warn you now, Keep a close eye on that boy of yours, I feel a strange presence from him." Marwin added seriously, the look on his face made April uneasy and also worried, "Leo?" April questioned him worriedly, Marwin nodded before turning his back at her, showing he was refusing to go any further with explanations. April really wanted to ask why as she was now scared for his sake, and just based on this, she could tell it wasn't anything good.

April gave one last uneasy look back at Marwin before exiting out the door where Leo and Jogo were waiting almost right outside as they had walked back realizing she stopped, Leo was giving her a somewhat worried expression knowing something was off and bothering her now as well.

April glanced up at Leo and only gave him a small reassuring smile, April knew Leo was worried about her being sad about Jenna, though she showed him she wasn't going to let the past and losses ruin her future and the people and family she still had currently and right in front of her.

The fact she had Leo reassure her and calm her down back when Dragor infiltrated the liar and told her about the deaths of just about everyone she knew her whole life made her accept it, he wasn't wrong, so long as you remember them, they're always with you. She refused to grieve and go down a ditch, knowing it would only result in making things worse than they already were.


	23. Chapter 23: Laurel

**Chapter 23: Laurel**

April was bothered by the initiative fact in regards to what the Elder warned her about Leo, she was unsure if he was referring to the Elder Blood in him, but it was also clear that it seemed like he wasn't which somewhat worried her.

April jolted to realization when her wrist was suddenly grabbed and she was yanked back and forced to stop from proceeding towards the stairs to leave this forsaken place, she glanced worriedly and noticed it was Leo who stopped her and had an arm in front of her where both him and Jogo had become defensive and she realized why.

All three of them had suddenly become surrounded by just about all the men in this entire large area of the building, and all of them giving perverted looks directly at April and Jogo whilst others giving Leo a nasty one due to the fact he was being protective.

April hid behind Leo more, she didn't like this, in fact she hated it and it was frightening her as it was bringing back bad memories from the last time she was forced to visit a bar party when younger. "We were just about to leave." Leo growled trying to persuade them, Leo wanted to refrain from any combat for a while due to his broken bones still, but this clearly was restricting him if it got out of hand, which seemed to be leading that way.

The stranglers here were clearly perverted and sexual, "Oh, but we don't want you to leave, that's a nice girl you got there, hand her over and we'll let you go." A man mentioned with a smirk on his face, the other men followed his direction and also put smirks on their faces, "And that Felynx of yours, she'll fetch a good price." Another added.

Leo unsurengly peered over his shoulder at April, he was for sure not making any deal with these bastards, family was far more important than anything, April and Jogo were clearly family as he only showed them no signs of a confirmed deal, only becoming more protective. "Jogo." Leo remarked seriously as he took a slight step to the side, Jogo immediately knew what he wanted and she transformed into her large winged wolf form, letting out a menacing growl as she flicked her tail angrily.

All the men only laughed and backed away slightly, it became ugly quickly, April and Leo were hoping Jogo would scare them enough to let them leave, but it only provoked them to wanting to capture them more. One of the men charged up at Leo to try and take him down so they could get to April, Leo immediately reacted as he deflected the man's attempted grab and tripped him onto his knees before knocking him out, this angered all the others.

April backed up a bit to give the two space, the fact that these men brought bad memories made her want to stay out of it despite she was capable of defending herself, All the men rushed in instantly and this only made Leo and Jogo become more defensive as they easily fought and knocked out the men one by one despite being outnumbered.

April was left astonished as it ended honestly quickly, Jogo backed up closer to April as she growled angrily and was being protective, Leo had the last man pinned up against a pillar, "Broken bones, no weapons, an entire room full of strangler perverts, all taken out this easily… we should've just done this in the first place!" April growled angrily, she was frustrated at how easy it was for Leo and Jogo both, the women in the area only watched frighteningly as they stayed out of it as well.

April angrily turned to look at Leo, "Damnit Leo! Now we're not even!" Leo glanced at her as he dropped the pinned man, he thought for a moment on what she meant on being even and instantly realized what she was getting at now that he actually took thought into it, "Sorry…" Leo remarked innocently.

April glanced around at all the men on the ground, "I thought these guys knew how to take a Den Na' Vor, they can't even take down a single person…" She remarked unceasingly, Leo walked over as he glanced around as well, "Marwin said it was a weak one, plus, it happened ages ago." Leo stated as he raised an unsureningly eye at her, "Yeah but you would think they would be… better than this if it's a cult religious thing passed through for generations. They were all just regular ol' drunk people…" April added.

"Even a religious culture can die out." Leo stated seriously as he turned and walked towards the stairs, Jogo turned and faced April as she gave a small purr and placed her head against April's arm, April smiled and petted Jogo and thanked her as they both followed behind Leo quickly.

After they reached back into the hall, Leo had stopped and peered at April as she approached with Jogo following along. She only looked up at him confusingly, "Wanna be even?" Leo questioned her, he was serious, but he also seemed upset and she could clearly see that with him, but she nodded at him only still to be confused. "Then, put your power to the test." Leo added as he pointed ahead of him, April instantly knew what he meant now, he wanted her to break the chains on Marol, April was already unsure about this, "I don't even know where to begin in even using it Leo…"

Leo only continued as he faced his back at her, clearly telling her she had to learn somehow and this was the start. Once they reached where Marol was, April had approached her, Marol was curled up sadly against the wall in the shadows, she looked lonely and depressed.

Marol immediately perked her head at the sound of April approaching and turned to look at her frighteningly, Marol instantly calmed down after she realized and noticed it was them again as April had her hands up showing she had no intention of harming her as she slowly approached. Leo and Jogo stood behind her somewhat aways with his arms crossed and leaning a bit while Jogo sat next to him still in her wolf form.

April had placed a hand on Marol's snout and then her head, giving her some affection that she so loved apparently that Leo had given her when they first arrived here. Now April understood, the pain these creatures seemed to feel that Leo clearly was understanding right off the bat, the suffering, and most of all, loneliness.

Dragons were rare now in this Dimension, only a few remained, and as April remembered, not all of them were bad like everyone saw them to be. Marol must've been imprisoned here for a long time, beaten and tortured to the strangler's bidding, but also keeping her alive only to suffer.

April placed her hand on the chains, they were large and magical chains, the only thing that could break these were something far more powerful, and Leo already thought ahead in regards to that, the LynBlade would've done the job but he didn't have it as he was stripped of his weapons before entering.

April closed her eyes as she tried to focus on the thought of breaking the chains, but it only resulted into a longing of nothing happening which annoyed her as she continued to let out annoyed sighs, "Leo, I can't. Nothing is happening."

Leo only was giving her a somewhat stern look, "You're not putting pure thought into it." In short, he was telling her she wasn't trying hard enough, this only angered her a bit as she glared at him, "Yes I am."

"You're clearly not trying hard enough." Leo stated seriously, April stood up angrily, "Yes I am!" "No you're not." Leo added, this made April snap as it seemed he clearly ignored what she remarked secondly, "**You try doing crap with your mind!**"

Leo only smirked at her, "They broke, didn't they…" April questioned only to not receive an answer, she turned around and glanced down at the chains, they broke completely and fell off Marols neck. Leo was purposely angering her to put more thought into wanting to break the chains, and it clearly worked as he took advantage of her anger, he must've thought of the previous times she had suddenly used it where she had a empty and clear mind with only one thought at the top of her head, and the way with how quickly Leo could instantly think of ideas and plans surprised her to no extent even more now.

"Now we're even." Leo remarked with a small smile, "And another rule added to my book, don't anger the Kine." Leo added sarcastically, April's smile turned into an instant frown, "Leeeooo…." April growled lowly, despite knowing the fact that a Kine in dragon terminology meant nothing towards english's in regards to it meaning a cow honestly meant nothing to her as she still took it as an offense.

Leo only smirked, she knew he was toying with her but it still angered her again, Leo only waved her off with a small chuckle as he ran towards the entrance knowing she would angrily chase him which she did, "Get back here and say that to my face again! I dare you!" April growled as she pursued him.

Jogo only stood in the same spot as the two ran down the hall towards the entrance they arrived at in order to leave as well, she turned to face Marol who was completely frozen and shocked, only to be staring at the broken chains at her feet. Marol turned her head and looked at Jogo who only gave a subtle smile and wagged her tail happily, showing Marol that she was free now.

April grabbed onto Leo as he suddenly stopped in front of the entrance and was about to pull on his cheeks annoyingly though she stopped immediately realizing something was wrong, he clearly didn't bother to counter or dodge her even though he could easily and he only stared at the entrance, April moved her gaze from him to the entrance, they were still sealed in.

The door was completely closed still, "I thought the door reopened to let people who entered, leave after visiting the main room." April questioned confusingly, "Yeah, well, clearly doesn't seem to be the case. It could've been wrong, or the strangler's sealed up the place after what we did back there in the main room." Leo remarked seriously as he glanced around at the door trying to think, only something large and strong could break through, and there was the fact it was also blocked with a magical barrier.

They were completely trapped unless there was some other exit they didn't know about, Jogo and Marol walked up behind them, both Leo and April heard strange sounds coming from behind them and they both glanced to see what it was.

Each step Marol took, Laurel grew from the ground with beautiful magical effects and dust motes. She had magical power that was most likely blocked by the chains that April had broken, she had also grown in size and seemed much better. Those chains clearly were weakening her, draining and blocking her power, preventing her from escaping.

She was a dragon of course, powerful magical power was to be expected from a dragon. April came to realization, she was a sweetheart, she must've never put up a fight against the strangler's when they captured her.

Marol had a very happy look on her face as she glanced down at April and Leo and walked passed them, approaching the sealed door. "Also a rule in my book, remind me to never do a serious hand to hand combat with you…" April remarked as she patted Leo's shoulder somewhat frighteningly, Leo was somewhat confused but understood her at the same time after what he did back in the main room, he honestly forgot how much more skilled he was in hand to hand combat than his weapons usually, he could literally beat all three of his brothers together, including competing against Splinter himself, but when it came to weapons, he somewhat struggled.

Both Leo and April jumped at the sudden loud crash, Marol had slammed herself into the door and literally broke it down with ease, including the magical barrier that was on the outside. The other's had been sitting outside the entire time waiting on them, it was almost dark, so they've clearly been in the building for some time now.

All the others that sat outside immediately jumped frighteningly at the sudden break through and crash, "What the hell have you two been through!?" Raph shouted frighteningly as both Leo and April walked out and were followed by Marol and Jogo, "Is that a dragon!? Woah!" Mikey shouted excitedly as him and Casey were amazed.

"Yeah well, she's a sweetheart, don't worry." April remarked as she glanced up at Marol happily, "Wow, I've only seen one other dragon my whole life I've been here, they've gone almost extinct." Arna stated surprisingly as she stared at Marol who lowered her head down next to April.

"Seems our next lead is in Annenberg City with a girl named Jenna, ring a bell?" April stated as she petted Marol and glanced at Arna hoping for a positive answer. Arna folded her fingers to her chin as she thought, "The name sounds familiar, but I've heard she's an amazing researcher and tracker with the recent teleportation arrivals, she probably already knows about all of you."

"All I know is that she likes to hang around the large ongoing festival that is always active in Annenberg City, every night and has been for years. Her general and exact location, I do not know. Annenberg from here is several miles away, it would take days to get there on foot." Arna stated sadly, wishing she knew more. April only moved her gaze from Arna to Marol, "Can you give us a ride to Annenberg?"

"**What!?** Ride that dragon!? No way!" Raph shouted angrily as he swept his hand to the side a few times and shook his head, "Is big bad Raph scared of riding a dragon?" Casey laughed, Raph only growled angrily and looked away, declining the fact of riding a dragon.

April wanted to, not just because it seemed fun or a good idea, but it would also be fastest to get to Annenberg, and she was worried about pushing Leo with his broken ribs to walk several days. Everyone already knew this and agreed, including Marol who allowed it as she lowered herself to show she did, everyone but Raph and Leo climbed onto Marol, Leo chose to ride on Jogo instead as she offered to for him.

April patted Marol and smirked, Marol ran at Raph which spooked him as she flew up and grabbed him with her hands as she did, "If you think we're leaving you alone Raph to walk for several days, think again, remember what I said back in Leeri?" April remarked as she shouted down at him, "Yeah… I remember…" Raph remarked sadly as he gave up with his stubbornness, he hated riding animals due to honestly being frightened of them, especially when they were twice his size, though the one thing he didn't forget on what April said was the fact they only had each other now.

Jogo and Leo followed behind quickly and flew up beside them, Leo was smirking at Raph, "Don't you dare give me that look!" Raph growled angrily as he crossed his arms unamused. "Seems you're enjoying the pleasant ride." Leo remarked sarcastically, "I wouldn't say Pleasant." Raph growled.

Leo only chuckled lightly as he and Jogo flew ahead easily, Marol still was recovering, so she wasn't as fast. But the fact she allowed it and was free to fly again made her happy as she had a large and peaceful smile on her face as she soared through the sky, she was clearly extremely grateful to them for freeing her from such loneliness.

After a long while of flying through the sky, it took only several hours to reach Annenberg City, Marol didn't fly directly near the City so she wouldn't be sighted from the citizens and have several people panic and send out some kind of special forces to capture her again. She landed close to the City in the trees where Leo and Jogo had already landed at and was waiting, Leo was pretty much loving and petting Jogo but stopped as soon as the others arrived and landed directly near him and Jogo.

Everyone jumped and climbed off Marol as she lowered herself to let them get off easily, April was in front of her and petted her gently as she was thanking her for the ride and that this was goodbye, she needed to be free and they couldn't have another along with them, too many mouths to feed as is.

They all were at the outskirts of the City, it would only take several minutes to walk to the City, Leo walked over next to April and also gave affection to Marol and gave her a farewell before she turned and flew off in the opposite direction.


	24. Chapter 24: Annenberg

**Chapter 24: Annenberg**

"So are we totally going to dress up for the festival!?" Mikey questioned excitedly, him and everyone else arrived in Annenberg City in under a few hours thanks to Marol whom Leo and April assisted in helping her free back at Strangler's Hill.

They all had rented out a small motel room to rest up for a single night and talk more about this expert Jenna who particularly knows just about every arrival on this dimension. Leo was upside down with his head hanging off the bottom of a small couch, he was bored, and so was everyone else considering they were pretty much at a dead end, Donnie was sitting next to him with a folded hand to his cheek and elbow resting on the arm of the couch.

"No Mikey, we've already wasted enough time as is. For all we know, Xen could be dead, and we're having a hard time finding them, having to go from one person to the next." Leo remarked unamusingly, "Actually, this might be our last. Jenna is really excellent with this, and the Elder said she was his friend, so he most likely knows that she knows." Arna stated, she and April were sitting on the one bed in the room.

"Let's hope so, our experience here so far has been… strange." Donnie stated slightly confusingly, Mikey was disappointed, like always he wanted to have fun and to goof around, and this all time festival that went on here in Annenberg had perked his attention and he really seemed to want to go and take part.

"The elder hardly gave us any description, just the festival as a lead, and this festival is huge, so is this city, it could take us ages before we find her…" Donnie remarked worriedly with a small annoyed sigh.

Arna noticed something off about Leo, he seemed sterned as if he was focusing on something else aside from the subject at hand that was being talked a'loud, "Something bothering you, Leo?" Arna questioned him confusingly.

"Wha?" Leo remarked when he heard Arna mention his name, snapping out of deep thought, "Is something bothering you, cause it seems like it." Arna stated once again.

It took Leo a good few seconds to say anything, he was unsure himself, only most of them knew how well that brain of his worked when it came to ahead plans, so this did make them all curious. Leo let out a small sigh, "April, remember what the Elder said about Jenna?" Leo questioned her.

April slightly raised an eye at him, wondering why he was getting back at that, "Well yeah, she's a friend of his, she's in annenberg and is a researcher on new arrivals including Den Na' Vors, and the festival."

"Exactly." Leo stated as he crossed his arms, April immediately came to realization and gasped slightly, everyone else was dumbfounded as they all looked at the two confusingly. "The elder never mentioned if he did or didn't know her exact location." Leo remarked as he started.

"He turned his back at us and wouldn't say anything more, he wants us to waste our time." April added, the reason why, they didn't know. The elder was already a very mysterious person when they first met him for that short time, even Jogo was keeping her distance from him a bit.

April was somewhat disappointed she didn't think of it sooner, Leo was on it like a hawk shortly after. She already came to the conclusion of what he was thinking now, and there were possibly two outcomes, Marwin was either buying time or trying to buy us all time to keep us away from danger or worse. But he could've also done it because he either felt like it, or wanted to give us a challenge, or it could be something entirely else.

Jogo let out a small meow that interrupted the silence that filled the room, "Well, whether the issue or not, we still need to find Jenna." Arna stated as she stood up off the bed with a small stretch, "Come on Mikey, let's go to the festival." She added happily as she grabbed her bag off the bed also.

"Aww yeahh!" Mikey shouted happily, Casey was practically passed out on the floor, slightly snoring away. Raph seemed to not entirely be interested in the situation as he was also bored himself and Arna clearly noticed this from him as well, "Raph you're coming too." Arna added with a small smirk.

Raph for once didn't argue, he too honestly wanted to check out the festival and get to finding this Jenna person asap, so he said nothing and only stood up from the floor. April was giving Leo a nasty glare, and he already noticed this, Donnie clearly could tell he only seemed to listen to April most the time, and she clearly was telling him to stay put and rest.

"Any of you else coming?" Arna questioned as she looked at the rest of them who didn't move, "I'm going to stay here, I gotta keep **someone** in check." April remarked with a small innocent wave and smile at Arna, Donnie also waved them off as he wanted to stay put himself, he wasn't entirely interested in the fact of a festival due to the amount of people in them.

Hardly moving from his position, let alone spot, Leo only gave a small subtle sigh. April honestly reminded him of Splinter in her own unique ways, so in a small way, he also looked up to her. She tended to also get through with the others just as well as she does with Leo, so they all tend to look up to her in their own ways. Leo wasn't going to argue with her, let alone be negative about the fact she wanted him to take it easy, and she was honestly correct due to the fact that whatever Marol did to him had faded off and the pain was returning.

"Starting to wonder if we should've gone with them to keep them in check…" Donnie questioned somewhat worried but also frightened from the fact of the amount of people in this large city, let alone a festival. "They can handle themselves, even if those two cant, Arna will keep them in the mindset." Leo remarked unamusingly as he sat up into a sitting position, Jogo leaped down and rested onto his lap from the top of the couch.

"And if she can't?" Donnie added seriously as he glanced at Leo, Leo didn't respond, despite Mikey always pulling pranks on Raph and pissing him off, they surprisingly were a good two team and even if Arna couldn't, it would mostly be Raph who would keep Mikey in the mindset with his impulsive attitude.

"Alright, so! We can go around, play a few festival games, but remember we're also looking for information on Jenna and trying to find her." Arna remarked as she pulled out a small map of Annenberg, Arna only knew a bit about the directions and locations of this place, she's only been here once, with the old friend of hers that passed long ago.

They were close to the festival, unlike the certain steampunk city Beving all the way far up south across the ocean that had a festival going just about every inch of the city for years on end to this day as well, though Beving was a dangerous city.

Arna glanced up after staring at the map and thinking about the festival, she immediately became frantic when she noticed Mikey had already disappeared and they were already in a pickle.

Looking at Raph who seemed to have no interest at all in the festival despite being bored back at the motel, Arna gave a small annoyed growl at him, "You could at least watch Mikey." "I am." Raph remarked sternly as he pointed at a gamestand not too off from where the two stood in the street.

Mikey was at that gamestand playing the current game that he first laid his eyes on when he noticed all the festival activities and decorations in the street across from them, and the fact of the dozens of people walking down the streets having their own good time.

Arna and Raph walked up to Mikey as he took his turn at the game while a few people stood around to watch along with them, it was a shooter type of game with magical toy guns, this dimension was full of magic, even objects were made with magic and most tools and supplies needed some sort of magic source in order to operate, so in this case, these toy guns had a cord connected to them that supplied them with magical energy. Unlike Leo's Lynblade, magic didn't cost a person's energy, special tools were made for that as certain materials were supplied with their own magic such as magic stones.

Though despite these magical stones, Leo's Lynblade was far far more powerful than any magical weapon or tool, even creature, that blade could even slice through the strongest scales of a dragon like butter, Arna glanced at the shells and plastron on the turtles, it was also like armor for them that protected their internal organs and most bones, even that sword could easily slice and break through them and it honestly worried her if an enemy ever got their hands on the weapon, it was extremely dangerous, it didn't just drain the wielders life away but it also produced overwhelming powerful lightning around the blade.

Arna for sure knew, that the discovery of the LynBlade that Leo came across wasn't going to be the first, there were still many weapons out there that were similar or exactly like the blade, though extremely rare.

Arna snapped out of thought when everyone began to cheer, Mikey scored a high score of shooting, he had to shoot a stack of bottles without knocking over other bottles, and he did it perfectly. She then came to realization with what she was just overthinking about and it made her realize… She took a liking to these turtles and the two humans.

She didn't feel insecure for once, she has been alone for a very long time, stuck here in this world, though she preferred it as earth was less fun. Despite that, this world was a large-scale survival op, you wouldn't know if the person next to you is evil or good, would attack or not, it was a hunt or be hunted world most of the time.

"Mikey, you're pretty amazing at games aren't you." Arna questioned him somewhat amazed, but also to give him the well needed attention and affection that she didn't mind giving. Mikey waved the tender of the game off with a small stuffed animal wolf in his arms as a reward and directed his happy attention at Arna, "You bet! Though... Leo usually has the highest scores, he would've done way better at that than I would have." Mikey remarked somewhat sadly.

He seemed somewhat disappointed that Leo and the others didn't come along, Leo was injured and didn't really have a choice, especially with April barking up a tree at him to rest.

"Aww Mikey, I'm sure once this is all over we can **all** go out together and have some fun." Arna said, attempting to cheer him up as they all walked down the street. Mikey was quick to accept the situation as he instantly became distracted with another game and ran towards it, Arna only let out a small smile, she honestly was somewhat jealous at how easily Mikey can get over something.

Raph was breathing down people's necks, he was already walking around asking people sternly about Jenna and if they knew anything, most the time scaring people off with his negative impulsive attitude which only made Arna unamused, not bothering to even stop him.

Clearly Raph wanted to find Jenna already and get this mess over with, he still seemed bothered by the fact he can't age anymore due to this dimension's atmosphere for other worldly arrivals, the others seemed to have accepted this fact though they will get tired of it eventually, seems to always tend to turn out that way after years and years go by seeing allies and close people to you move on and/or pass away.

Arna only slightly rolled her eyes somewhat annoyed by how Raph was acting towards the people, "You know maybe you shouldn't-" Arna began as Raph was approaching, only to be interrupted by him.

"I have a lead." Raph said sternly with his arms crossed, Arna instantly tilted slightly in slight astonishment, well, impulsive attitude was also a good way to get information out of people.

"Wait till Leo hears about this." Raph growled happily that he successfully managed to get information for once, Arna waved at Mikey to come on back after he finished another game and he quickly did, she then directed her attention back at Raph with a slightly confused expression on her face and this confused him immediately, "What?" Raph questioned her.

"What's with you guys and Leo? I get he's your leader and all… but… you seem to look up to him a little too much." Arna questioned confusingly, Mikey was munching on a bag of chips he won at one of the other gamestands, "He's... our older.. brother." Mikey remarked with his mouth full of chips.

Raph eased up his attitude and looked down slightly, he hated to admit it but he did look up towards Leo all the time even since they were kids, "He's also far too protective and sacrificial." Mikey added after swallowing his chips, "Sacrificial?" Arna questioned as she was looking at Mikey considering he was the one answering.

"He continues to take and jump in alot of fights in order to protect us, so he's always getting injured, he's been like this even since we were little kids, we've tried making him stop but he wont. It's like a family instinct of his, his body just moves on its own to protect his family at all costs." Raph explained hesitantly, "That's why we call him fearless Leader, he ain't afraid of death, but we are for him." Mikey remarked, tossing another chip into his mouth and crunching it loudly with a smile.

"Without him, we're an insufficient team, though without us, he can't always pull everything off on his own. " Raph added, he then remembered what April mentioned back in Leeri when he was upset and blamed her for the caused injuries on Leo, he thought of her as a weak pathetic girl that Leo still proceeded to protect despite this, though he thought wrong when he noticed more from her since they arrived here, especially the way she managed to talk through with everyone, including himself.

Raph was somewhat Jealous of April, She was almost like a mother to them when it came to their safety or anything regarding injuries, it wasn't just Leo she tended to get upset with when he avoided and endured his injuries, but everyone else when they were negative towards something.

Raph let out a large growl, instantly becoming annoyed with the thoughts that overflowed his mind, especially memories, "I swear, one day ill beat his ass!" Raph growled angrily, Mikey let out a small chuckle at his statement because he could never beat Leo in any form of combat, though he did come close one time.

Donnie was passed out on the side of the couch, slightly snoring away along with Casey who still was on the floor, April was reading a book she came across randomly lying around in the Motel room which she seemed to slowly become intrigued with.

Leo let out a small sneeze as he was trying to sleep but apparently couldn't again, this spooked Jogo who was resting away on his lap still, he immediately grasped his side painfully as the sneeze did cause a jolt of pain instantly and let out a small painful whimper.

Raising an eye, April noticed Leo had an unpleasant look on his face though it was also showing pain, "You ok?" April questioned him worriedly as she slowly lowered the book onto her stomach, considering she was laying back on the bed.

Leo let out a small annoyed growl, "Why do I get the feeling I'm being talked about…" Jogo rested herself again as she curled up and began to purr slightly, Leo leaned back and slightly slumped down somewhat boredly and rested a hand on Jogo, petting her gently.

"Raphs probably talking crap about you again." April remarked as she continued to read her book knowing he wouldn't respond as she was most likely correct.

"April." Leo said somewhat sternly, April glanced over at him with a confused but also worried look on her face, though it became more confused when she noticed the gentle look he was giving her.

"Thank you." He added with a small innocent smile, this confused her immediately and she didn't know why he was thanking her, so she didn't hesitate to ask.

"Why are you thanking me?" April questioned him, she couldn't think of why, there wasn't really anything to be thanking her for.

Leo rested his hand on his cheek and closed his eyes as he looked down, "If not for you, I probably wouldn't be in the right mindset of my own, let alone be here."

April realized he clearly was thinking about the past incidents, though he wasn't wrong as she now remembered back in Leeri, she snapped him out of his building depression hole from the loss of Splinter, and their home.

Letting out a small sigh, Leo had an added somewhat sad look, "Though it is our fault you got into this mess with us." Leo added, clearly blaming himself.

This immediately made April furious, she threw the book to the side of the bed and sliding off she marched her way towards him. Leo directed his attention at her when he heard her move and stand and followed her with his eyes as she angrily marched over, this somewhat frightened him, immediately knowing he ticked her off.

Slowly removing his hand from his cheek and giving a somewhat worried and frightened look, April grabbed his finger and twisted it slightly, only enough to somewhat hurt him.

This immediately also frightened Jogo as she shot her head up and noticing the situation at hand, he leapt down and off Leo's lap hesitantly. Leo yelped slightly from the sudden action April pulled, he was about to instantly give her an unpleasant look like 'what the hell was that for' but only to immediately be stopped as she quickly hugged him afterward.

He clearly blamed himself for the loss of her family, Jenna, Kana, Adam. He knew she could've easily just ignored it all after the incident with Jenna and had a normal life with her family and the others most likely still alive.

If it wasn't for Mikey and him with the duplicate statue with the real blueprint to the teleporter, then she wouldn't have gotten further into the mess, he also could've easily just left her to live a normal life and stay out of all of it.

Leo seemed to forget that April was full of surprises, she seemed to always have a comeback for everything as well when it came to words and talking, and Leo clearly was on a losing streak on this part.

Leo didn't know how to react anymore with all these sudden hugs that she tended to keep resulting too when down, though he knew she liked doing it because it was the best possible way to provide comfort and ease someone's pain.

April also knew it seemed to always work best with Leo considering it spooked him everytime she resulted to it, April wasn't crying this time despite her being somewhat of a crybaby, she still was somewhat furious at him and wouldn't release her hug on him.

Leo rested a hand on her back and relaxed sadly, he knew what he said had pissed her off. "Sorry…" he remarked weakly, somewhat regretting what he said.

"No, I should be thanking you." April began sternly herself, thanks to him, she was remembering the past again even though she accepted it and the loss of close family and friends, she didn't blame him, he clearly cared for her and didn't want her in this mess because of how bad it was and dangerous.

"Leo, I have no regrets towards following Mikey's little chip trail and meeting you and your brothers, I don't care what it resulted in or the cost of what had already happened, the past is the past and I've accepted it, but can you?" April said, tears started to form in her eyes with all that was coming to mind.

"Because...right now… all I have left, is you guys." April added weakly as she sobbed lightly, not knowing if Xen was alive or dead scared her, anyone who would risk their life and aid her, she considered and had a large soft spot for deeply.

And right now as well, Leo's injuries also scared and worried her, he's helped and saved her so many times now that she has lost count and he still continues to be overly protective and of course sacrificial.

"Aww, you two are so cute." Donnie stated with a smirk on his face, he woke up and the two didn't even notice or realize it until he said something, April still didn't release her grip on Leo, she gave Donnie an ugly look though and it frightened him slightly, she immediately reached her arm out and grabbed Donnie by the scarf, pulling him into a hug as well.

"That includes you too ." April remarked somewhat sternly, Donnie was slightly blushing and didn't know how to react himself either, Leo gave him a small smirk in return, telling him, 'Welcome to what I deal with.'

"Mikey, i'll pound you first!" Raph growled pounding his fists together as a threatening remark because of the chuckle he resulted towards about Leo, knowing he would whoop his ass.

"Alright, enough, what's this lead you have for Jenna?" Arna questioned sternly at Raph as she slightly raised an eye, showing she wasn't pleased at all or interested in his attitude.

Raph glanced at Arna then back at Mikey and crossed his arms angrily, "Something about a library downtown."

Arna immediately had a realization on her face that confused the two brothers, "Duhh! I totally forgot the one other thing about her, she's a major bookworm."

After a short while of walking through the streets towards downtown, Raph having to pull Mikey away from his attempts at doing more games, they had finally arrived and stood directly in front of the library. For once Raph was somewhat amazed, "This place… is huge.."

Arna smirked slightly, "It's only one of the most famous libraries in the world." "Only one? What's it ranked at?" Mikey questioned, munching on some more chips he still had.

"Rank five, the number one spot goes to the library in cybercity, it's like being inside a literal mountain full of books." Arna said, she's never been to it, cybercity was very very far off from where they currently were in the world, like she stated before, this world was far more larger than earth itself.

"Who knows, maybe we'll end up there someday." Arna remarked with an unpleasant huff, cybercity, despite its popularity, it was also dangerous like Beving steampunk city.

Any large city was pretty much very dangerous, and Arna was never pleased with it as she encountered and witnessed many issues and problems in only some of the larger cities she's gone to with her old friend, so she chose to stick the smaller towns and villages and build herself a little home that she had to currently leave in order to help the turtles and two humans.

Mikey shook his bag of chips and gave a small sad sigh, "Aww…" he was all out now as he had munched away the entire walk. "No food allowed anyway Mikey." Arna remarked as she proceeded towards the doors, Raph followed directly behind as Mikey tossed his bag away and quickly caught up.

Once again, both Mikey and Raph were amazed at how fancy the interior looked, it was like the inside of a rich person's castle. Arna had her upper finger placed under her chin as she was thinking while Mikey and Raph browsed the interior with their eyes in astonishment.

She had a small brief description on what Jenna looked like based on rumors she had accidentally overheard at one point as she tried to remember, Arna removed her hand from her chin and perked her head and ears as she glanced around the library, she forgot how huge this place was not just from the outside, but it was also like a maze on the inside.

Mikey and Raph ended up in a hallway that was lined fully with books on each side, Mikey randomly grabbed and pulled a book out from a shelf and opened it, a small magical monster popped out from the page and roared in Mikeys face, he immediately slammed the book closed and dropped it as he jumped back frighteningly half to death with a large yelp.

Raph opened one randomly as well as he tilted the book, it had strange writing on the pages, most likely magical lettering and writing that he didn't understand at all. "Man, Donnie would love to be here." Raph remarked as he put the book back.

"If he knew we were coming to a castle like library, he probably would've had second thoughts on coming." Arna remarked as she had walked over, "I know where Jenna is." she added with a smile, she had asked and checked with a clerk while the two brothers had strange experiences already here.


	25. Chapter 25: Nerds

**Chapter 25: Nerds**

"Uhm, Jenna?" Arna said hesitantly with a raised finger, she was attempting to peer over a pile of books that surrounded a very pleasant nerd who was reading and writing a table by themselves about two stories up in the library.

Raph had his arms crossed unpleasantly as he was not interested in the fact of nerds and bookworms, and Mikey like always was dumbfounded and still amazed out by the interior of the building.

"Yeah!?" Jenna remarked somewhat loudly as she perked herself up to look at who was calling her from behind the pile of books, Mikey immediately fell back frightened by her sudden shout and her appearance.

Jenna was a somewhat thin croc like mutant with very unique clothing and gear, just like your typical researcher that wore all kinds of nerdy and researching tools.

She wore some odd reading glasses that made her eyes look squinty and evil looking, this somewhat frightened the small group, though it frightened Mikey the most apparently.

"Oh sorry." Jenna said, removing the glasses from her eyes. "Can I help you?" She added confusingly.

Arna gave a small subtle sigh, "We're here hoping you could help us find someone, two as a matter of fact."

Jenna raised an eyebrow somewhat sternly, Arna heard that Jenna requested difficult requirements when it came to information in regards to finding someone. It was late and Jenna wasn't entirely intrigued at the moment as she was currently overwhelmed and busy with the pile of books all around her.

"Elder Marwin sent us." Raph angrily remarked. Jenna glared at Raph and checked him over, as a matter of fact, she looked them all over and didn't seem interested.

"Come back here in the morning and I'll talk, doesn't matter what time." Jenna remarked sternly as she lowered herself back under the books, putting her glasses back on. They clearly weren't going to get anywhere now, not until morning it seemed.

Raph was about to start a public tantrum and throw a fit at Jenna, he was being very impatient since they arrived here. Arna had to grab and drag him to prevent him from doing so, she didn't want to start any drama or cause any damage that could ruin the possibility to come back and get answers if she wouldn't give them now, plus, they needed the rest.

After a while of walking back and having to drag Mikey along considering he wanted to do more games, they finally arrived back at the Motel. Arna couldn't help but too smile widely when they opened the door to the room, April, Leo and Donnie were all passed out on the couch together, and Casey didn't seem like he'd woken up at all as he still continued to snore away on the floor.

"Seems the bed is mine now!" Mikey laughed happily as he jumped onto it, Raph only kicked him off with a smirk on his face. "Knock it off!" Arna growled lowly at the two fighting over the bed spot, she didn't want to wake the others.

"You two just share it, it's a large bed." Arna said sternly as the two sat down on the bed and immediately stopped, Arna would sleep on the ground like Casey, she was a fox afterall and could easily curl up and make herself comfortable.

After a while, the two brothers fell asleep together on the bed. Arna was curled up on the floor against the wall and she perked her head slightly and glanced around at everyone, Jogo let out a tiny meow.

She instantly reacted to Jogo's small meow and directed her look towards it, Jogo was curled up on Leo's lap and staring directly at Arna with her head and ears perked.

Arna only smiled as she also seemed to notice a small smile on Jogo's little feline face. "You're happy too, huh." Arna remarked softly, Jogo rested herself back down after what Arna said and went back to sleep.

Letting out a small sigh, Arna rested herself back down as well. They both had nothing, no one for a while, and the sudden appearance of this small group of teenagers and encountering them sure did make her happy as they immediately accepted her assistance to this day.

She had people to care about again, people to interact with, people to call, friends. Both Arna and Jogo were happy to have met the turtles and humans that day, though she was sad as well, they were currently trying to find a way back home, and she would help with that all the way through, she didn't have anything important or left to do anyway.

Sunrise was approaching, Casey was the first to wake up as he tiredly let out a large yawn and looked around at everyone who was still passed out. "Weird… I'm normally the last to wake up… or Mikey." Casey mumbled lowly, everyone was clearly exhausted, either not getting enough sleep, or was up late last night.

Mikey suddenly let out a frightened yelp and fell off the side of the bed with a large thud, which spooked Arna awake as she immediately jumped frightened and looked around worriedly. "What?! What was that!?" She whimpered hesitantly and then relaxed realizing the situation.

Leo jumped frighteningly awake as well, as it practically sounded like something crashing loudly through the ground. Leo's sudden jump, spooked both Jogo and April awake, though April didn't react much as she only slightly lifted her head and glanced over in Mikey's direction.

Mikey shot upward with wide eyes, "Sorry! I had a weird dream…" Mikey exclaimed hesitantly, but also innocently as he didn't mean to wake just about all of them up.

Donnie and Raph slept through it like babies as they both were still passed out snoring away, Jogo stretched letting out a large yawn herself.

Leo had a somewhat tight grip on April's shoulder as his one arm was around her, she practically used him as a pillow somewhat while Donnie used April as a pillow himself.

April removed her arm around Donnie as it felt numb a bit too and directed her attention to Leo who clearly was in pain because of his injuries, he had immediately slumped over and grasped his side, this told her the pain had surely returned after Marol's little power help had faded fully now.

"It's ok Mikey, it happens." Arna remarked as stretched, they all could see the sunlight slowly coming through the window, which meant they all were able to sleep throughout the night.

"Now that you two are awake, best I tell you." Arna added as she directed her attention to Leo and April.

Leo glanced up somewhat painfully, he was starting to take April's word for it, maybe he did need to rest, the pain felt worse than before that it was starting to become somewhat unbearable, though he endured it. He wasn't going to be idly sitting and resting away when only god knows if Xen is dead or not, she was considered family for what she has done to help and aid them, let alone accept their help, she honestly wouldn't have been able to do it alone.

Now that Leo thought it over, there really was no rush to find a way back home, to earth. There was nothing left there for them, their home, destroyed, Splinter, dead.

"We found Jenna at the public library in downtown, she wants us to meet her today back there, doesn't matter when she says." Arna explained as she also directed her attention at Casey.

"Library? Wicked!" Casey said with excitement, only to have Arna walk up to him sternly and smack him upside the head. "Not everything is wicked here." Arna growled seriously at him.

"Leo… you really should-" April began, only to be cut off by him. "I'm fine." Leo growled weakly, April instantly gave him a serious stern look and tightened her grip on him to grasp his attention, "No you're not." she growled at him, being serious like an angry mother.

Leo's grip on her shoulder loosened, he had a gentle concerned look in his eyes as he looked at her directly and that made her immediately feel bad for becoming aggressive, though he knew she was just being protective over his well being.

"We find Xen, then we rest." Leo remarked as he removed his arm around her and slumped back down, April also lost everything back on earth, there was nothing there for her anymore either, same with Casey.

April developed a sad look on her face, she quickly realized what he was getting at and thinking now, the clearness that there was no rush after finding Xen.

Letting out a small sigh, April stood up with a stretch. "Alright then, wake these two up and let's go." April said with an unamused look on her face. "Are you sure?" Arna questioned her, "It's only just beginning to be morning." She added.

April could tell Arna was probably referring to the fact Jenna might not be there this early, either way, they would be there waiting when she did arrive if she was or wasn't. "Who knows, she probably goes there early and leaves late at night. Plus, we'll be there waiting for her if she isn't." April stated seriously.

Arna sighed but nodded in agreement, "Mikey, you're waking up Raph." Arna smirked at him, she wasn't going to, plus he was the on who woke just about everyone up as is. "Whaaatt…!?" Mikey sobbed as he frighteningly looked at Raph who was snoring peacefully away on the bed still.

April turned to face Leo who looked up at her with a semi surprised look, he didn't think she would accept what he said so quickly and would only disapprove and argue with him more, trying to persuade him

She knew he clearly was not going to rest, let alone take it easy, arguing was going to get nowhere if she resulted towards it and being negative and she immediately already realized this, so she had no choice but to just accept it, she offered her hand out to help him up.

"Until we find Xen, right. Until then, at least let me assist you." April somewhat implored with a gentle look on her face and a small smile.

Jogo had already jumped off Leo's lap with another stretch as she landed on the floor softly without a sound, she trotted her way towards the door and waited patiently to leave.

Leo with a contented look only smiled with a small sigh, accepting her offer. She reflected Splinter very well, she wasn't just full of surprises but also resonated optimism and tried to keep them all in high spirits with her words. They all were in the same boat, they all had lost everything and maybe here was the best place to start something new, it seemed he would have to accept the past and move on after all and move on, but first they had to find Xen.

"Aww, Casey you do it!" Mikey sobbed seriously. "What, no way man!" Casey growled as he hid behind Arna who didn't entirely care at all, "You two are such babies." Arna sarcastically stated.

April woke up Donnie pretty easily and told him about the situation and plans, Mikey let out a large scream as he was thrown across the room by Raph when he managed to wake him up, though it was like waking up an angry bear.

Arna had a somewhat frightened expression as she watched Mikey get thrown, "This is normal…?" Arna questioned hesitantly, knowing why the two were so afraid now.

No one replied, everyone only had an unamused expression on their faces and that's all she needed as it was remarked towards a yes. Mikey stood up with a hand behind his head and sobbed, "It's usually me or Leo that wakes him up when we have to." Mikey softly sobbed.

Arna glanced at Donnie who seemed to sit out the most usually, and got less attention sometimes. Donnie noticed this and only gave her a confused look, "And what about you?" Arna questioned him as she pointed.

Donnie tilted his head confusingly, "Uhh, I'm usually the second to last to wake up… April and Leo are the early birds. Sometimes it varies with me and Mikey to wake up last."

Arna only slumped her finger down, she wasn't entirely referring to the sleep pattern of who woke up first or last, more so why he got less attention, though, so did Casey and Mikey. Arna realized they were more like the odd one's out, like a, B team.

Arna didn't correct him or herself and just stayed silent, Raph let out a yawn and stood up. "We are going or what?" Raph growled questionably.

That was their que, now that everyone was awake, it was go time. They didn't have to worry about too much activity in the streets at this early time of day, everyone was pretty much asleep and the festival was only active when it started to get dark.

The Library was always open, twenty-four seven. Arna was the one to pay and give back the keys to the clerk for renting out the room for the night before they all headed out and left for the library.

Surprisingly enough, Arna was right about the streets being less active as they all walked towards downtown, Mikey was somewhat disappointed there were no active game stands during the morning, not even one.

Once they all approached the Library, everyone but Arna, Leo, Raph and Mikey were amazed at the sight of the building, how large it was, like a castle that amazed Raph and Mikey when they first saw it. Leo didn't care, he was never too fond of famous castle looking places, let alone any fancy place, something he got used to for living in the sewers his whole life.

Arna became surprised when they entered the building, getting a better view of where Jenna last was during the night, April was right about her being here early and leaving late at night. Jenna was sitting in the exact same spot, still piled up with books, studying and reading away.

"Jenna." Arna remarked sternly to get her attention as the group stood in front of her and her pile. Jenna perked her head up over the pile with a somewhat unamused expression on her face as she recognized the voice quickly.

"Welcome back!" Jenna remarked as she removed her glasses with a small smirk on her face, this confused everyone, though her studying them with her eyes confused them even more, more creeped them out.

"So, are you going to help us find who we're looking for? You said you would talk." Arna questioned her hesitantly. Jenna only had a small smirk on her face, "Sure, but it'll cost you."

Arna tilted her head slightly and raised an eye, "How much?" Jenna glanced at her then at Donnie, "You two must be the nerds of the group." Both Arna and Donnie glanced at each other then back at Jenna with confused expressions.

Mikey giggled a bit, "Who's the strongest of us then?" He questioned, realising this Jenna seemed to guess or know their current positions.

Jenna raised an eye, "You should know that, I shouldn't have to answer that for you." She stated seriously. Everyone instantly had eyes on Leo, Leo immediately widened his eyes and hesitated, "Seriously?! Again?!"

Jenna laughed, "No no no, not just him." She pointed at both Leo and April, this made everyone confused except Arna and Leo who instantly had a stern look on his face. "They don't know, do they." Jenna smirked.

"Leo, what does she mean?" Raph growled seriously, wanting answers. Leo only glared and stared down Jenna seriously, so much for keeping April's powers a secret for a while until she could learn to control and use it. He didn't want to fear or worry the others, let alone put April at risk.

"April has psychotic abilities." Leo remarked angrily, not taking his angry eyes off Jenna who only smirked. "Woah, you mean?!" Casey began, "Telekinesis and Telepathy." Leo added sternly.

"That's wicked!" Casey shouted excitedly, "Oh for the love of-" Arna began but only stopped herself with an annoyed sigh.

"Why didn't you tell us beforehand?" Donnie questioned sadly, he didn't like being left in the dark. "We didn't want to worry or scare you guys… and I figured you guys would fear me…" April remarked sadly as she looked down.

"You don't know how to control it…" Donnie added, April nodded. Donnie only smiled, "Why would you think that." April glanced up at him in confusement.

It wasn't just Leo who wanted to keep it a secret, but she did as well, in fact she asked him too as well as Arna. It wasn't that she just didn't want to scare the others, but she feared accidentally hurting them if she ended up losing control at some point. And Donnie seemed to understand this immediately with the gentle smile he gave her of understandment and appeal.

"April, just like Leo and Arna, we accept who you are. Whether you have powers or not, you're family after all, and our sister." Donnie stated with a smile on his face, April knew he tended to start talking randomly and babble, but he wasn't wrong as he seemed very serious with what he just said, not only that. Raph also agreed and so did the others as they all had smiles on their faces and directed at her.

April directed her sorrowful happy expression at Leo who was peering at her with a gentle and ease look, "You knew…" April sobbed lightly, he knew they would accept her whether she had dangerous powers or not, it was herself they cared about, not her powers, but he still chose to keep it secret for her despite knowing it.

Even if April thought of herself as someone weak and pathetic, it still didn't change the fact she still helped them through some of the toughest times to this point right now.

Leo gave a subtle sigh as he directed a continued stern look at Jenna who still continued to smirk throughout the whole thing, "How did you even know?" Leo growled, he wasn't happy at all.

"Trust me boy, I know everything. I know about Dragor, I know about your friend Xen that you're trying to find, not knowing if she's dead or alive. I know about your powers, April. I know you're injured, Leo." Jenna stated, leaving them all in amazement except Leo who was beginning to become pissed, though he held back.

Jenna chuckled lightly "Now, You two must search for a jewelry piece, it's a necklace, made out of pure gold and has an owl symbol on it. Somewhere in this library, or out in the festival, you will find it. The other's can help you, sure, but you're the smart one's, no?"

Jenna was clearly directing her attention at Arna and Donnie, she had an amused look on her face that creeped them out. "We have all the time, right?" Donnie questioned her, hoping they weren't on some kind of timer and then having to end up at a dead end with no information or directions.

"Sure, but unless you wanna help him, I suggest you hurry." Jenna stated with a returned smirk on her face, "Him?" Arna questioned confusingly. Everyone instantly directed their attention at Leo, he suddenly wailed painfully and collapsed onto his knees and arm, using his free one and grasping his side tightly as he cried.

"Leo!" April immediately was already down with him as she hugged him to comfort him, "Damn you!" Raph growled angrily, he knew already that Jenna was causing Leo's pain with his two broken ribs.

Mikey and Casey had to hold back Raph with how pissed he became and wanted to attack Jenna instantly. Jenna had a grin on her face, "I wonder how long he can endure it. Here's your hint, around every corner, someone is watching."

Arna worriedly glanced down at Leo behind her, he was trying hard to endure and bare with the overwhelming and excruciating pain that Jenna was most likely causing him with magic, she heard rumors, Jenna was very powerful with magic and she tended to enjoy games just as much as she did studying and learning.

With their luck, whatever she was doing to Leo, it was most likely killing him, not just causing immense pain. Arna knew then and there she and Donnie had no choice but to play this unforgivable game of hers, not just for Leo's sake, but to also find Xen.


	26. Chapter 26: Odd Presence

**Chapter 26: Odd presence**

"Around every corner, someone is watching? The hell is that supposed to mean!?" Casey shouted annoyingly. Him, Arna, Donnie and Mikey all were standing in a hallway full of shelved books as they had already begun to start, Arna left April and Raph with Leo.

"You two are gamers, don't you gotta solve riddles and puzzles in games often?" Arna said, giving them an unpleasant look. "Well, thats a game, not reality!" Casey growled, seemingly telling her it was very much different.

Arna slightly agreed as he wasn't entirely wrong, games tended to always have some way of giving out clues overtime, and right now they didn't really have much of it, let alone only one hint. She honestly somewhat wished April was here helping them, she was intelligent herself but Arna knew she would refuse to leave Leo's side, same with Raph with how pissed he was.

"Maybe it's eyes we need to look for around a corner?" Donnie questioned them including himself, he had his hand under his chin, he was trying to think the entire time.

Arna was somewhat disappointed, "Maybe, but the fact we have this entire library to search **and** the festival…" they had a very very large search area for such a small piece of jewelry.

Raph let out a small annoyed growl, he was staring Jenna down as she just sat there reading a book with an amused expression on her face. April was tightly embracing Leo, trying to at least provide a little comfort for him. Surprisingly enough he did semi tuck himself into her arm and shoulder, April glanced at Jenna, she officially hated her for doing this, she thought it was fun in games to put someone in suffering.

Raph was standing in front of the two on their knees, being protective over them. Jenna slightly peered over the book she was reading and looked down at the two, April had turned her look in the direction the others had gone, most likely wanting them to hurry.

'This girl… she's not just easing his pain by providing comfort but she's also reducing it a bit with her power and she doesn't even know it.' Jenna thought to herself as a small grin formed on her face, though it wasn't enough to fully get rid of it.

Leo painfully glanced at Jenna over April's arm, he showed her how pissed and protective he was with the overwhelming sternful glare he gave her and Jenna saw this, though her sudden amused and grinful expression suddenly faded, with slight fear.

April quickly directed her attention back to Leo then immediately noticed the feared expression on Jenna's face, Raph noticed it as well though he hardly reacted to it at all and just stood there still being protective.

This confused April but it also made her curious, why was her sudden amusement gone and crashed down to sudden fear of something, or someone. April immediately glanced down at Leo who was only trembling painfully and still tucked himself, did she fear Leo, or was it something else.

'I only saw a glimpse of it in his eyes… that's impossible.' Jenna thought, she had a fearful stern look that only left April very confused. It was clear to April now, she was fearing Leo for some reason that she couldn't make out at all, Jenna wouldn't move her eyes off him and they were full of fear and shock.

April snapped out of thought and confusement on why Jenna was acting the way she was when she suddenly felt Leo grasp her shoulder to get her attention, looking down at him, he slightly opened his eyes and was looking in a general direction and it wasn't Jenna nor' Raph he was looking at.

He was in far too much pain to talk, but April instantly already knew what he was getting at, despite his pain he felt it too. That odd presence was back again, now that she remembered, this presence seemed to match the strange hint Jenna gave them.

April was putting the puzzle together, at least the way she thought of it, thanks to Leo reminding her about this presence. This person, or something that has been following them since the beginning has been watching them everywhere, and around every corner.

It wasn't just that, but Jenna seemed to know everything about them, what if, just what if, this person has been spying on them from the beginning and everytime that presence left, it was to tell Jenna here about what they collected about them. Though it made her wonder if Marwin was in on this as well, April wasn't entirely sure herself if any of this was accurate, but it was something, some kind of lead that she would take the chance into doing.

"Raph." April sternly said, she was serious but also full of anger just as much as he was. Raph peered at her over his shoulder, she didn't have to say anything more as he already knew she was wanting him to watch over Leo as she released her worried grip on him and let Raph take over, standing up as she would not take her eyes off the direction Leo was looking at.

April marched her way towards an isle, what she didn't understand and couldn't get off her mind was the fact only her and Leo seemed to feel this odd presence, let alone react to it as the others didn't seem to notice or react to it all like they did.

She wasn't going to let that bother her and stop her though, just like Leo, she was able to pinpoint this odd presence as it most definitely seemed to stay here in this public library.

April halted in front of a wall with a picture hanging on it of a strange dog-like creature, looking like a cerberus. April must've thought and came to the conclusion that gods must really exist, though she was more occupied with the situation currently.

Odd as it was, April pressed the palm of her hand against a certain part of the picture. The suddenly moved and it spooked her a bit as she jumped a little, opening a secret passage with a staircase.

April didn't hesitate to begin walking down the steps, she started hearing a voice, a young boy, talking to himself. April peered around the corner at the end of the staircase, she noticed a young boy dressed in a cloak, he looked around her own age but most likely two or three years younger than her and the guys and he was shorter than her.

It somewhat made her feel strange when a guy was shorter than her, though she didn't mind it all honestly, let alone cared about a person's height. Leo was only slightly taller than her, though unlike him, Donnie was taller than everyone.

This boy was mumbling to himself as he messed around with writing on a bunch of papers at a desk, her best guess was he was writing down information, or maybe a story. But this boy gave off the exact same presence she and Leo have been strangely sensing and that made her somewhat snap angrily.

April marched up behind the boy, he didn't hear her coming because he kept mumbling to himself. The boy was about to turn around after finally hearing her, but April already and immediately reacted, she grabbed the back of his cloak tightly and pinned him against the desk forcefully.

The boy frighteningly cried out in sudden shock, he wasn't fighting back at all, he was surprisingly weak but she knew he was very skilled in stealth and hiding his presence, though that didn't work very well with her and Leo.

"You've been spying and following us, why!?" April growled as she pinned him down harder, hurting him a bit to get him to talk. "I… don't know what you're talking about lady!" He cried frighteningly.

April grabbed his right arm and twisted it behind him, causing him pain. "Unless you want me to break your arm, I suggest you rethink your answer." April said with a livid tone.

The boy cried out painfully with the sudden jolt of pain and immediately pleaded, "Ok ok! Jeez!" April loosened her grip slightly, "I investigate new arrivals that get teleported here, doesn't matter who or what, and I keep investigating the same person or people until i'm told not too anymore." He began.

"Jenna, right?" April questioned him sternly, he nodded. "She uses special magic that only she developed in order to find new arrivals, and if she takes an interest in them, she sends me to investigate and spy on them, get info on them. Like you and your friends." He stated, April knew he was telling the truth.

"Well, she's hurting a friend of mine currently, where's this owl necklace she wants?" April asked, still angry as hell. The boy hesitated, April resulting into gripping his arm tightly, threatening him about breaking it, making him instantly answer.

"In a book... that she's currently reading. She likes to play these kinds of games with anyone who wants information out of her. Even if it means putting someone through agony and suffering to force them too." He remarked hesitantly, hoping she wouldn't snap his arm.

April let go of his arm, this surprised him a bit. "What's your name?" She asked him, lifting him up off the desk, still gripping the back of his collar forcefully. "I-Isaac…" He replied frighteningly.

Putting people through pain and suffering was no fun in games, this told April that Jenna was clearly an orphic, let alone a quean.

April pulled and dragged Isaac along with her, she was taking him with her back to Jenna and he still didn't fight back. Sure he was skilled in stealth and presence vanishment, but when he got caught, he was like an innocent child.

Raph was knelt down beside Leo with a hand on his shoulder, Leo was laying on his side semi-limply as he was extremely close to falling unconscious. April was approaching and noticed this, she knew he was becoming unable to endure and bare it any longer.

April felt somewhat bad for Isaac, she was unsure if he was being used as a tool or doing this at his own free will, either way, she didn't care as she was more concerned for Leo's sake.

Isaac was thrown down forcefully and collapsed onto his knees shamefully, slumped over like an innocent child April saw him as when caught. April angrily marched her way over in front of Jenna and snatched the book she was reading in her hands, instantly flipping all the pages and reaching the very back of the book.

She tore off the page area that covered the end of the book and just like Isaac told her, the necklace was there. April tossed it on the table right in front of Jenna along with the book, "Quit whatever you're doing to Leo, **Now**! And give us the information we want." April growled.

Jenna only smirked slightly and handed April a small piece of paper with the information on it and directions, along with stopping the magic she was doing to Leo who pretty much fell unconscious at this point.

"Spying on people is very uncalled for and rude." April added angrily as she snatched the paper, Raph picked up and carried Leo on his back as the three took their leave. Isaac, still feeling ashamed, drooped himself sadly more.

"I'm sorry Madame… I didn't think the girl would sense me." Isaac sobbed slightly, Jenna's smirked returned to an amused one as she fidgeted with the necklace on the table with her hand and watched the three walk off and leave.

"Don't be, it wasn't just the girl who sensed you, plus, I knew she would find you." Jenna said as she glanced down at Isaac who only looked up at her with a confused look on his face.

She was honestly doing it for the fun, especially when she took an interest in someone or a small group, it just made it much more amusing to her. "The blue one also sensed you and I might know why." Jenna added with some fright in her voice, 'Was it really her in him? I thought she was dead, she's been concealed for centuries.' Jenna thought, somewhat concerned.

Isaac was somewhat frightened himself when Jenna formed a large smirk on her face, "I can't wait to see what unfolds on them now." Jenna said as she slammed the metal part of the necklace onto the table.

Donnie and Arna immediately stopped what they were doing, both standing and digging through books and shelves in a hallway. They noticed April and Raph who was carrying unconscious Leo at the end, both having unamused and confused looks on their faces asking like what the hell were they doing.

Especially the fact Mikey and Casey built themselves a fort out of books, both also freezing and dropping the books in hand. "Is he…?" Arna began as she and the others approached them, leaving behind the mess they all made.

"He's fine, we have the info, so let's get the hell outa here." April remarked, raising the small paper in her hand, showing them. They didn't hesitate and agreed, immediately leaving the library.

Raph couldn't help but to ask, "Who was the kid?" April didn't bother to look at him, but she did explain, "His name was Isaac apparently, he was spying on us since we arrived here in this world."

"Wait Wait, so we were being spied on, and you knew about this the whole time?" Donnie questioned her with a concerned look on his face, April shrugged a bit, "Both me and Leo could feel an odd presence lurking around but we didn't want to take any action or precaution so soon."

They didn't want to concern the other's as well, making it seem obvious for Isaac that they knew he was lurking around. April hated to admit it, but if it did come to that, they probably wouldn't be here right now being able to get the location of Xen and would probably end up at a dead end and Leo was right, they've already wasted enough time jumping from one person to the next just to find an individual.

"Fair enough." Donnie said, immediately understanding along with the others. Mikey and Casey were goofing around like always as they followed behind the others, Jogo was trotting along beside April as they were pretty much following Arna, taking their leave from the city.

April handed the small paper over to Arna as she caught up and walked beside her, "Do you know where this place is?" April questioned, Arna glanced at the paper and grabbed it as it was already unfolded and displayed a location.

"It's an abandoned temple…" Arna remarked, she recognized it for sure. April only had a confused look on her face, wanting more complex details and Arna already knew this.

"It's a temple that was attacked ages ago and was abandoned to rot away, no one lives near it or really goes near it cause it's said to be cursed when really it's not. Been there myself, actually went inside it too, but that was a few years back." Arna explained, handing the paper back to April who accepted.

"It's a two day walk from here." Arna stated, she knew they would be upset, having to waste another two days, but it was better than not knowing at all or having it take longer and they clearly understood this.


	27. Chapter 27: Temple

**Chapter 27: Temple**

"Leo, you sure you're ok?" A voice approached him, Leo peered over his shoulder immediately recognizing the voice only to have a subtle confused expression on his face.

"You're worried?" Leo questioned, forming a small smirk on his face. It was Raph, leaning against a tree with a somewhat concerned look on his face. Leo had wandered off on his own to think for himself for a bit while the others were set up at camp for the night.

It was unlike Raph to ask such a question, let alone show concern since he considered himself bulk and tough, attempting no awareness of weaknesses whether it be physically, or emotionally.

"No! I knew you would be fine, so no I wasn't!" Raph growled angrily, knowing Leo was taking advantage of his soft spot and being sarcastic.

Leo only glanced down at his open palm with a subtle sigh, Raph clearly noticed he seemed bothered and concerned about something but wasn't entirely sure exactly what it could be.

Placing a hand on Leo's shoulder as he approached, Raph only sighed as well, not bothering to look at him. "Ok, fine. I was worried, but what's really bothering you?" Raph questioned him with slight concern in his eyes as he finally glanced down at Leo.

"The future." Leo stated seriously, this only confused Raph as he tilted his head slightly. "I'm saying, what do we do after we find Xen or not…? What if we can't get back home?" Leo added.

"You think we're better off staying here…" Raph asked. "Yeah… there's nothing left for us back home. Maybe we can start new, here." Leo stated with a small annoyed sigh, he was also referring to Arna who was originally from earth as well, only to be teleported here like them and she started a new life here, so what if they did as well, maybe things would turn out better for them.

It wasn't just her, they didn't have to hide themselves from the living and humans and stay stuck in the sewers for the rest of their lives unlike here. Despite the difficulties and troubles so far, he was honestly starting to like it more and more, sure Dimension Nether was still full of mysteries, and more possible dangers, but it was something to start with unlike earth where they would most likely be stuck in hiding forever.

Raph hated to admit it, but he too was starting to like it here and Leo made a valid point that they had nothing left back on earth. Everything was gone, Splinter, their home, friends and family that Dragor killed or were here with them also most likely stuck.

Raph let out a small sigh and sat down next to Leo, "Then we stay." He remarked, Leo glanced at him with a somewhat surprised look, Raph typically always went against Leo's wishes, let alone plans and the fact he easily agreed amazed Leo to no extent.

Leo could tell he wasn't concerned or upset about being stuck at the age of sixteen anymore and had most likely gotten over it, accepting it like everyone else did instantly.

Sure being able to live forever and not worry about growing old was amazing and all, but making allies and friends only to see them grow old and die would hurt more than anything. Leo didn't care honestly, he was totally chill with it, so long as he had his brothers, April and Casey who all were also stuck at their ages by his side, then he didn't care at all unless something happened to them, they were all family after all.

It was hard enough losing Splinter, and Leo for sure wasn't going to lose the family he still had with him. Leo gave a small gentle smile at Raph, Raph fell onto his back with a large sigh.

"What if we end up finding Dragor instead of Xen?" Raph questioned Leo as he was staring up at the galaxy mixed sky full of stars, Leo only had a small concerned expression form onto his face and slowly placed his hand over his side in regards to his one broken rib that Dragor caused.

"We don't stand a chance if we do…" Leo began with concern in his voice, "We might not, but you do." Raph remarked, this only confused Leo as he glanced down at Raph.

Raph immediately smirked slightly and pointed at his back, or specifically, the Lynblade that was still equipped with Leo's third strap on his back. "You know what this sword does to me…" Leo began concerningly.

"I know, April constantly gives the blade ugly glaring looks without you noticing it, she absolutely despises that sword. Plus I saw it with my own eyes, Leo. But that sword, along with the Elder blood, you can beat him." Raph stated seriously, he clearly had faith in Leo along with the blade, despite what the blade does to the wielder he knew Leo would most likely be able to pull through.

"April's just worried about you, she knows that sword can kill you." Raph continued, "Raph, she's lost everyone that she grew up with, of course she is worried about all of us." Leo remarked sternly, he knew April was hurting still despite her not showing it and clearly accepting those losses.

Sure, April was accepting the past as there was nothing they could do about it, and only being down and miserable wasn't going to solve anything. April had lost more than any of them, and even though she tried to not concern Leo and the others about it, he still couldn't accept the fact that it was their fault and blamed himself whether she liked it or not.

"She doesn't want to lose anyone else anymore, Leo. Which means us too, so, you're not going to lose if it does end up with us confronting Dragor. We have your back bro, and we'll do our best to help you." Raph stated as he sat up giving Leo an overwhelming stern look.

He was clearly showing and telling Leo that he was the only one who was capable of defeating Dragor if Xen wasn't there or around, or worse. Dragor would clearly fight and not allow them to just walk off, especially since they ruined his teleportation plans.

Leo clearly was losing this somewhat argument, so he only sighed out of defeat. He really hoped things wouldn't turn out that way, and for once have things go their way, the right and positive way.

Find Xen alive and ok, and then go from there with her. She was considered family after all, especially what she's done in order to help out, though she gave them the choice to stay out of the fight but they just couldn't after all that has happened.

"How's the bones?" Raph questioned Leo, clearly changing the subject. Leo was honestly glad he did, take his mind off all the doubts and concerning thoughts.

Now that Raph mentioned it, ever since he woke up he felt no pain at all in his side, almost as if they were healed. "I think… Jenna healed them." Leo questioned even himself, he didn't know why or how but they clearly weren't hurting at all no matter how he moved.

"I still despise that witch." Raph growled angrily, he hated what she did, fun in games wasn't always fun for everyone. And what she did to Leo was most definitely uncalled for and unnecessary whether she healed them or not in the end.

"Well, so do I, but there's nothing we can do about it. She still kept her end of the bargon." Leo said with a small gentle smile as he stood up, "We can't hate her forever…" Leo stopped with an unamused and hesitant look on his face, immediately remembering their forever age span now.

"I take that back." Leo added unamusaningly. Raph only let out a small chuckle as Leo helped him stand up, "We'll be arriving at the temple sometime tomorrow, best we go with the others and get some sleep." Leo said, patting Raph's shoulder as he walked off back towards the camp with a small wave, thanking him for the conversation and encouragement.

"Have you guys seen Casey?" April questioned both Leo and Raph who were entering back into the camp. "No, why? Wasn't he with you all?" Raph remarked glancing around for him.

"He said he had to take a leak, that was fifteen minutes ago." April added, "We've looked around, but nothing." Arna added, tossing her bag to the ground next to the fireplace.

"Maybe he just wandered off to explore?" Leo said uncertainty, he and everyone else were beginning to become concerned, it was unlike Casey to be gone like this, especially alone with how attached to Mikey or Raph he was.

"You know him best, April." Mikey remarked, who was sitting next to the fireplace munching away on some food. "Not well enough for him to wander off, he sticks with you and Raph the most, you should know him too." April remarked somewhat sternly.

Raph hesitated when April turned to look at him, "Don't look at me." Raph stated innocently, "I didn't do anything, I just went to get Leo." He added, "I never said if you did or didn't do anything, I'm just concerned if something happened." April said, considering their experiences so far have been dangerous one's.

"Well, he probably fell asleep somewhere or couldn't find his way back, something we all need to get." Arna stated as she made herself comfortable next to the fire, turning her back to them all and dozing off.

April had a very concerned expression on her face and turned to look at Mikey and Donnie who hesitated, unsure what to do. She flinched frighteningly slightly when Leo placed a hand on her shoulder, turning to look at him where both him and Raph had a small smile, "Me and Raph will go look around, stay here with the others." Leo said.

Leo and Raph went in the general direction April told them he had gone, Leo searched from the tree's while Raph the ground, calling out for him, but still nothing. It was completely silent with only the nightly sounds of crickets and other creatures, with a slight breeze.

"Leo!" Raph shouted from below, calling out for him to come down. Leo leaped down from a tree, walking over to Raph with a confused look on his face. "Found this." Raph remarked, waving one of Casey's hockey pucks in front of him.

Glancing around, they both didn't seem to see, let alone find anything more. Making their way back to the camp with no Casey, only to have April more concerned and uneasy.

April was holding the Hockey puck in hand, glancing it over. "Maybe he was snatched up by someone?" Raph questioned, trying to give suggestions. "Let me see that." Arna asked, sitting up from her lying position and only to have somewhat surprised looks at her, thinking she was asleep but apparently not.

April tossed the puck to Arna who caught it, peering it over and feeling it steadily. "It's warm." She remarked, "Well yeah…" April said confusingly, "I mean more warm than usual, meaning magic warmth." Arna added.

Everyone looked at her with confused expressions, unsure what she meant entirely. "Someone teleported him. Either to them or somewhere entirely else away from us, he could be anywhere." Arna said, tossing the puck back to April.

"So we do nothing?" April questioned worriedly, Arna only shrugged. "We either go back and talk to Jenna, play another one of her sick games for his location, or we just continue to the temple that's only several hours away where your friend, Xen could be."

Donnie and Mikey had pretty much passed out by this time, snoring away, unaware of the current situation and conversation happening. April, glancing down with a concerned but also furious look on her face, didn't say anything.

They all for sure didn't wan't to go back to talk to Jenna, let alone play her stupid games that weren't fun at all. "We get sleep, head for the temple in the morning, then we find Casey after unless he turns up during the night." Leo stated, "We came this far to find Xen, we can't go back now." He added seriously but also sadly, hoping he didn't upset April with the choice.

April surprisingly wasn't disapproved of the choice Leo made for all of them, though he clearly still saw the concern in her face as she sat down next to the ongoing fireplace for warmth and staring down at the puck in her hand sadly.

Both Leo and Raph knew she was having it the worst, especially after the conversation with Raph about her and her losses compared to the rest of them. She didn't want to lose anyone else as it was hard enough to accept the one's she already lost, especially her family and the people she considered family, and now Casey was missing.

Leo walked beside her and sat down, placing an arm around over her shoulder with his small side cape, using it like a blanket for her. This action of his honestly surprised her, he was never the one to perform such a thing, it was always normally her who always jumped to it with all the hugs and comforts.

He had quickly picked up on the fact she clearly did it, knowing full well it was the best way to provide comfort and hopefully ease someone's discomfort and pain with how often she seemed to do it. Raph had found a suitable spot to rest for the night, April figured Leo was going to stay up the majority of the night to keep watch considering he already had a nap.

Jogo had even ran up and crawled her way into April's lap, curling up and began purring lowly and happily, also providing comfort in cute, gentle and small form. April formed a small smile on her face, quickly accepting their comfort as she rested her head against Leo's chest, staring down at Casey's puck still and using her free hand to pet Jogo.

Time seemed to fly by quickly, April ended up falling asleep on Leo who didn't move at all during the night and of course just as she predicted, he stayed up keeping watch while everyone else slept. She couldn't tell how early it was, but it most definitely was very early as it seemed the sun was just rising.

April lifted herself slightly which seemed to spook Leo slightly as he was clearly lost in thought, staring at the fireplace that was just about almost burnt out. "Sorry…" She said silently enough for him to hear, she didn't want to wake the others.

"Don't be." He said glancing at her then back at the fire, she saw a subtle worried look in his eyes and it only made her curious though she flushed it off as she remembered about Casey immediately. She glanced around concerningly, there was still no sight of him anywhere, clearly telling her he still hasn't showed up during the night at all.

April only sighed sadly, glancing down at his puck still in hand, she could only hope for the best and that he was ok, she just hoped he was at least still alive as she absolutely did not want to lose anyone else any longer.

A few hours had passed while April and Leo, including Jogo had let the others sleep awhile longer, knowing full well that today was most likely going to be a long one. Mikey, who of course was the last to wake up, stretched and only to glance around as he noticed everyone just about packed and ready to go, saying nothing as he let out a long yawn.

Raph, tossing Mikey a bag on him before he stood up, caused to frighten him slightly, "Time to go sleepy head." Raph stated as he picked up his own bag filled with his own things. Mikey quickly stood up with the bag in hand as the others had already begun to take their leave, he rummaged through his bag to see if there were any snacks as he followed behind the others.

After a smooth several hours of walking, the temple could be seen in sight and had already looked worn down and torn apart just as Arna stated beforehand. "Wow… it's huge despite it being in some pieces…" Donnie remarked as he was the one seemingly most intrigued with it, glancing around from the distance they were at.

"It was an old good safe haven during the old times I heard, served as a barrier and fortress to many regions and clans. That is, until it finally got destroyed and lost its purpose by the numerous wars as no one would repair the temple, so it was abandoned up to this point." Arna explained, she knew this based on rumors and books she had read, and of course visiting the place once before.

As they approached the temple, most of them glanced around at and had to step over the rubble that laid around as they walked deeper inside the temple. "It's quiet…" Raph stated, with a small annoyed growl, "It's always quiet here, it's been dead here for ages, no one comes here at all." Arna said as she was the one taking the lead.

As they approached a very large room, they all noticed blood stains on the ground that had seemingly dried up and still looked fresh as blood tended to very darken over time. Donnie, crouching next to one of the stains to check it out as he placed a finger on it to see, "This is only a few days old…" He said, glancing up at the others.

"Guys!" Mikey shouted, causing them all to jolt their attention to him as he had wandered off on his own a bit away. "Mikey! Don't go off on your own!" Raph growled as he quickly came up to him, directing his attention to where Mikey was staring, only to immediately become surprised.

As the others came up to see what seemed to make them shocked out of mostly fear, they too had formed the same expression, though April who covered her mouth in horror and immediately having tears form in her eyes. "Xen…" She sobbed weakly, there in front of the group a bit of a distance away from a very large pile of rubble lied Xen, covered in injuries and blood and was clearly dead.

April, who was about to run to her, was immediately pulled back by Leo as he pulled her behind him and kept her there. Him including the other guys had become defensive over both her and Arna as Raph also had a hand on April to prevent her from moving from them, that's when she understood they weren't alone.

Everyone had eyes on the large pile of rubble in front of them, it started to move around and wiggle as dozens of average sized but also large rocks toppled to the ground and rolled from the movement. A figure slowly rised, appearing out from under the rubble, it was none other than Dragor himself as he raised his head and glared at the small group, letting out menacing laughter, dragging his wings and feet out from the rubble as he now stood on top of it. "Welcome to your demise!" Dragor laughed menacingly.


End file.
